Atrium. Our food business increases its range of products. Efficiency gives a competitive edge page 14. page 24. Our

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Atrium. Our food business increases its range of products. Efficiency gives a competitive edge page 14. page 24. Our"

Hubert Cooper
5 years ago
Views:

1 New production line improves productivity p.10 Slaughterhouse workers wear green p. 30 Our Atrium The Atria Company Staff Magazine 3/2007 Our food business increases its range of products page 24 Efficiency gives a competitive edge page 14

2 good food... maarit hara

TEX T ANNUKKA OKSANEN BILDER LARS MØLLER Meatball

equipment has been installed which offers greater

Production Manager, and Christian Bundy, Chief

3 TEX T ANNUKKA OKSANEN BILDER LARS MØLLER Meatball production has really taken off again at Atria Scandinavia's facility in Fosie. A completely new type of contact cooking equipment has been installed which offers greater efficiency, functionality and safety - it cooks even better meatballs too! THEY TASTE JUST LIKE HOME- Anders Sonesson, Production Manager, and Christian Bundy, Chief Technician, are pleased with the contact cooking process. The line produces both meatballs and hamburgers. [ 10 ]

L ea Arvidsson skilfully steers a forklift to the beginning of the meatball production line.

a time onto the contact plates. This process is repeated 33 times every minute.

Atria's production facility in the Fosie district of Malmoe, Sweden, is a hive of activity: In one department, for example, rice pudding is being squeezed into a plastic 'sausage-like' packaging,

Her colleague, Bengt Andersson, with 29 years experience on the line, agrees. It's wonderful that we've got rid of the oil!

4 L ea Arvidsson skilfully steers a forklift to the beginning of the meatball production line. She lifts the container into place and ensures that its load of mincemeat mix is poured into the yawning mouth of the machine correctly, and before long the moulds are disgorging thirty meatballs at a time onto the contact plates. This process is repeated 33 times every minute. Five minutes and fifteen seconds later the cooked, 12-gram meatballs arrive at the end of the line looking just like home-made. Atria's production facility in the Fosie district of Malmoe, Sweden, is a hive of activity: In one department, for example, rice pudding is being squeezed into a plastic 'sausage-like' packaging, while potato pasties with a meat filling, a Swedish speciality called kroppkakor, are being produced in another. The plant's latest star however is its brand new meatball production line, which Company Director Sami Haapasalmi refers to as the most advanced and high-tech in Northern Europe. It has even received the admiration of visitors from Finland. It's great not to have to work with messy fat any more, says Arvidsson who has worked on the line for five years. Her colleague, Bengt Andersson, with 29 years experience on the line, agrees. It's wonderful that we've got rid of the oil! What's more it's much nicer working with new equipment,' he tells us with a grin. The installation of the new meatball machinery has meant that Andersson, Arvidsson and four other colleagues have had to learn a completely new production method; contact cooking. Meatballs are no longer dipped in oil and fried - they are now steamed and contact fried instead. A trying year - two fires The decision to invest in Fosie's new meatball production line was taken after its old machinery caught fire, not once but twice, in We lost everything in those blazes, says Andersson. The fires caused a great deal of stress for the work force, but they are are relievedto be rid of the enormous oil tanks previously needed for fat frying. After the second fire concerns were raised as to how the same sort of accident could happen twice, and there were fears that it might result in redundancies. Atria however decided to continue production. It was a tough time, says Christian Bundy, Chief Technician. According to Sami Haapasalmi a lot has been learned from the fires. It was good to see how well we coped in a crisis,' he says, and since the fires, Atria Scandinavia has thoroughly reviewed various scenarios on reacting to critical situations in the company.! E D A M Oil is not the only thing that has disappeared. The fumes from the process are now extracted through the roof and the noise level has dropped considerably, although humidity has risen slightly as a result of the steam used during production. Now and again Arvidsson is seen spraying a little extra moisture on the meatballs - the meatball expert's touch of experience! [ 11 ]

Bengt Andersson is at one with the machinery that steams and contact fries the meatballs Christian Bundy points out that the use of oil also created a minor environmental problem because of the vast

Computer controlled efficiency The company searched for machines for its new production line as far afield as Holland and the US before finally finding the Swedish company Formcook closer to home in

When choosing a supplier it was important to us that maintenance and development would be available, close at hand, if required, adds Sonesson.

Thanks to the millimetre precision of the temperature control and contact plates it has been possible to widen the product range whilst at the same time introducing more efficient and flexible

- Blodpalt is one of my favourites,' Arvidsson tells us.

5 Bengt Andersson is at one with the machinery that steams and contact fries the meatballs Christian Bundy points out that the use of oil also created a minor environmental problem because of the vast amounts required in the frying process. Computer controlled efficiency The company searched for machines for its new production line as far afield as Holland and the US before finally finding the Swedish company Formcook closer to home in the town of Helsingborg. According to Production Manager Anders Sonesson, the approximate cost ofthe line was 5 million SEK. When choosing a supplier it was important to us that maintenance and development would be available, close at hand, if required, adds Sonesson. The machine has been designed so that other products than meatballs can be produced. Thanks to the millimetre precision of the temperature control and contact plates it has been possible to widen the product range whilst at the same time introducing more efficient and flexible production. The machine has formers for hamburgers as well as the kidneyshaped Swedish speciality landsbiff and a new addition, blodpalt, a meat and potato dumpling. - Blodpalt is one of my favourites,' Arvidsson tells us. Whereas the old cooking lines used to be adjusted by hand, everything is now done automatically and when the operator enters a code into the machine's computer it adjusts itself to the correct setting. Entering K-B.SIB.14, for example, tells the machine that the distance between the contact plates should be 22mm and the air temperature 250 degrees C to manufacture Sibylla brand's frozen meatballs. Furthermore the machinery can delivery the exact amount of sauce needed to colour the meatballs. Just like home-made Christian Bundy is full of praise for the technology that makes it possible to regulate the moisture content, juiciness and consistency of the fried products. This all helps to maintain a consistent quality. Even the temperature of the raw ingredients is monitored during production, he says. Of course it took a little time to learn the new production methods. It was difficult at first because we wanted to make the meatballs rom the new machine exactly like those from the old one. But now these meatballs are juicier and tastier than before, Bundy assures us. The meatballs cooked on the contact fryer line are reminiscent of home-made, whereas the oil fried ones looked much more like an industrial product. This is because meatballs dipped in oil and fried are perfectly round and smooth with an evenly brown colour those from the contact fryer have an uneven surface and variances in colour. Contact fried meatballs are also a healthier product than traditional ones produced in oil. They have so many benefits,' says Jörgen Norrman as he packs the meatballs ready for freezing. [ 12 ]

Juicy meatballs from Fosie The new cooking production line produces 200-800 kilos of meat products per hour, the volume varying depending on the product weight.

It takes 70 minutes to deep freeze the products.

A sauce is added to give colour to the product.

6 Juicy meatballs from Fosie The new cooking production line produces kilos of meat products per hour, the volume varying depending on the product weight. For example, while it takes five minutes fifteen seconds to produce 12gram meatballs, thin beef patties are produced in just one minute thirty seconds. It takes 70 minutes to deep freeze the products. The meatballs progress through the line on a contact-cooking belt that cooks them on top and bottom while they are occasionally moistened with steam. A sauce is added to give colour to the product. Contact cooking is the last word in the industrial production of meatballs and is expected to become the future standard, largely because contact fried meatballsare a healthier product than fat fried meatballs. The Fosie factory has 250 employees and six operators are employed on the new line, producing meatballs in two shifts: Morning shift from 06:00 to 15:26 and evening shift 14:30 to 24:00. Production is primarily destined for catering kitchens and restaurant chains. Atria Scandinavia AB's Fosieby is situated on the outskirts of Malmö in southern Sweden. En lönsam investering, varför? bättre arbetsförhållanden mindre buller och stekos. Personalen behöver inte längre hantera det över 200 ºC varma fettet. Ökad kostnadseffektivitet Linjen är långt automatiserad, de anställda behöver inte övervaka produktionen på samma sätt. Lite spill. A variety of uses Not only meatballs - several different products can be manufactured on the line. Niklas Jönsson packs Sibylla meatballs into boxes. [ 13 ]

Natural cooked, natural taste and natural appearance

Natural cooked, natural taste and natural appearance Minced meat Line Our way of cooking The conveyor belts are made from a non-stick material giving many advantages. Combine that with our continues cleaning system of the belt: No belt marks on the product