Green growth: Nordic Greens and Newtec's sustainable packaging for fresh produce

Nordic Greens grows fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and salad and ensures quality of produce through their greenhouse method and the care that they bring unto the cultivation of their products. Nordic Greens vegetables are produced in state-of-the-art greenhouses located in Funen, Denmark, and Trelleborg, Sweden. With its vast expanse of greenhouses, the company aims for maintaining the freshness of products and the high standard of performance.

Newtec’s High Speed Container Filler (HSCF) is a big part of Nordic Greens’ optimised procedures as they aim to utilise the benefits of automation, minimise waste and optimise production performance.

Product care and optimised packing services

Nordic Greens was the first producer in Europe to hand-pick the products and place them directly into trays, thereby minimising the damage that might otherwise compromise the product. As Nordic Greens’ is among Denmark’s environmentally friendly, top-quality greenhouse vegetables producers, its mission is to add value to its offerings for customers and taking care of its products is the number one priority.

From start to finish, their care to the selection and packing process makes a difference. Newtec’s HSCF contributes hugely to this enterprise as it optimises the packing and helps maintain the top quality of the products, in this case fresh tomatoes. Apart from punnets, which are offered both as open and foil wrapped, Newtec’s technology also runs buckets and cups with lids.

Rikke Dybkjær Pedersen, Public Relations Manager, Nordic Greens, explains: Newtec's HSCF means that production and the various packaging types are streamlined and fully automated compared to before, and the number of employees to handle this process is reduced.

Newtec’s solution is a versatile packing machine that can fill a range of packing containers and offers a touchscreen operation that allows customers to set tailored settings and manage the packing procedure without much human intervention. Its features include flexible dispenser systems and punnet conveyors that offer adjustability.

Quality of products and HSCF automation

The main concern about automating the process was how much damage would be done to the tomatoes.

Rikke Dybkjær Pedersen continues: The quality of the product has also improved, as there is less handling compared to manual operations, and therefore the process is more gentle on the tomatoes. The solution is flexible, as we can run several types of packaging simply by changing the settings.

Newtec’s solution minimised the risk of spoiled or wasted products, all in one easy-to-use machine that can easily be adapted to fit each customer’s needs.

Newtec’s HSCF offers a tool for each type of container , and changing the settings is easy and convenient, as the machine units are interchangeable. Furthermore, Newtec’s solution is uniform, which means that its all-in-one services are useful to optimise packing procedures through automated processes.

With the additional help of WebServices, a Newtec developed shop floor control system, directly linked to the machines, the packing solution enables access to remote servicing and production data. This means accuracy of information when it comes to the production process, as well as convenience and cost effectiveness through remote management.

Sustainability in packaging

Sustainability gains increasing importance in the food and packaging sectors, with more and more companies making green practices a primary objective.

Rikke Dybkjær Pedersen adds: Sustainability and climate considerations are always high on our agenda in all our phases of production, and we therefore always choose packaging solutions that meet our high standards. This means that we use recycled cardboard and 100% recycled and reusable plastic, although it is not always the cheapest solution.

Their use of Newtec’s HSCF means less use of plastic, less waste, more speed of operation, and less energy consumption.

The manager goes on to underline the way many Danish companies are respectful to the environment and that environmentally friendly practices should be a collective responsibility. Nordic Greens grows its products with the utmost care to the environment and works towards lowering its CO2 footprint in the packaging sector.

Eliminating food waste

Nordic Greens meets its objectives competently, cost-effectively and with minimum giveaway, which points to its consideration for a greener packaging industry and the way products are handled so that they reach the customer as fresh as possible.

Newtec’s machine guarantees accurate weighing and a gentle product packing process, thereby rendering operations sustainable, fast, and waste-free, without compromising the quality of the company’s produce.

Newtec’s head of Sales and Market Development, Thomas Heinicke, says: It has been a pleasure working with Nordic Greens on this project. We share several of the same values and goals toward reduction of food waste and better handling of products. We are proud of being a part of their effort to reach their production goals with climate considerations as top priority.

According to Nordic Greens, in the fight against food waste, it is, among other things, important, how, for example, the tomatoes are handled when they are packaged, so that they receive as few shocks as possible, and therefore have a longer shelf life, and Newtec HSCF helps us to ensure that. Nordic Greens is a co-founder of Denmark against Food Waste, whose objective is to cut food waste by half in the food sector by 2030. In fact, the company has achieved the UN’s World Goal No.12 for food waste reduction ahead of target.

www.newtec.com

www.nordicgreens.dk