Around the world with a miniature food factory
“What happens if we pack our vegetables in cardboard boxes instead of in glass jars or tin cans? Would that influence the taste, color or consistency?” That’s what a lot of customers wonder when they have had their eyes opened to Tetra Recart’s packaging. And they can get a straight answer – right there in their own plant – thanks to the MTU team that travels to the customer with a miniature food factory.
MTU stands for Mobile Test Unit, and it includes an autoclave (a large pressure cooker), a machine that shapes and seals packages and different kinds of fillers. Along with other peripheral equipment, everything is packed in two 20-foot containers and sent to the potential customer’s plant for ca. five weeks of testing.
“Right now we have three MTU modules, and we are purchasing additional equipment. There’s one unit in North America, one in Europe, and usually one in Asia, but that one is in Europe at the moment,” says Magnus Jönsson, an MTU engineer who travels with the units to customers around the world.
Testing in Lund or in their own premises
Testing a new product can either take place in Lund or in the customer’s premises. The test factory in Lund has the same equipment setup as the MTUs.
For some customers it is not possible to go to Lund, perhaps because their products consist of fresh raw materials or because of legal restrictions on transporting the raw materials.
“Before customers come here or we send out an MTU, we prepare for the tests. "To make sure that we are well prepared we always try to get the products the customer wants to pack" says Jan Lindqvist.
Jan is one of the four food engineers who, among other things, study the quality of products.
“I’m usually present during the first week of production, sometimes a little longer. Then we discuss food technology, quality and microbiology with the customer,” says Jan. “The purpose of this includes making sure that we have a microbiologically safe product.”
Test packages are sent to Lund
About 20 MTU runs are carried out every year, and so far ca. 200 different products have been packaged with the MTU modules in customers’ plants.
“A lot of our work involves product follow-up,” says Jan. “We analyze what happens to the product while it is being stored, and we study the interaction between the packaging and the food, like whether the product is in any way affected by the packaging material. “We also carry out many internal studies and tests of different products and packaging materials, and all these experiences are gathered in a knowledge bank.”
For more information, please contact:
- Internet infomaster