A Sheffield-based sandwich chain has streamlined its preparation process by investing in a new flow-wrapping machine to supply freshly sliced bread to its stores every day.
With 14 shops in the Sheffield area, Beres Pork Shop (Beres) is celebrating its 60th anniversary and has firmly established itself as a lunchtime favourite of the Steel City. However, with over a million sliced bread rolls required every year, preparing their high-quality sandwiches is a logistical challenge that previously required manual handling.
Richard Beres, Owner of Beres Pork Shop, says the new FR100 flow wrapper from ULMA Packaging will help centralise and simplify a previously time-consuming aspect of the sandwich-making process. “We would previously have to load the rolls by hand into separate bread baskets at our main facility for transport to individual branches, where slicing and packaging would take place. However, the bread could dry out before reaching its destination, and we had to consider health and safety – cutting bread with sharp implements in a busy shop could be dangerous, so we wanted to ensure our staff were protected too.
He continued: “With these concerns in mind, it became increasingly clear that we needed to invest in packaging machinery. As this was our first step with this sort of automation technology, it was important that any solution we selected needed to be easy-to-use while remaining flexible to our site’s needs. After some research, I came across ULMA Packaging – I was very impressed with the wide range of machine solutions they could offer, and by the fact they were also based in Sheffield, so would be nearby for any support I might need.”
Following a consultation process, the packaging machinery provider recommended Beres opt for an FR100 flow wrapper to handle its bread rolls. Designed for the packaging of trays of baked goods, pastries and cakes alongside other trayed and trayless goods, the FR100 is a highly-regarded entry-level option for companies looking to adopt packaging technologies.
The fact the FR100 is equipped with an easy-to-operate industrial PC and 7” HMI touchscreen allowing personnel to make quick and simple changes to the packaging process was also something Richard hugely appreciated. He said: “It’s crucial we can quickly adapt the packaging process as we have to supply three roll sizes, so the fact it is easy to change the machine’s parameters with only one size of film is a massive bonus.
“It has made everything so much more streamlined and efficient – as we can now slice and package everything in one place, our staff’s day-to-day duties are much easier, as they don’t have to balance packaging and slicing with serving customers.”
He concludes: “Because of this, less training is now required, meaning we can set up more sandwich shops more quickly and expand further. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say the FR100 is already essential to our business, and will become even more so as we grow in the future.”
For more information on the ULMA FR100 flow wrapper, click here.
