Leading UK ingredients manufacturer Beacon Foods has boosted its sachet packing capability by investing in new machinery to meet growing demand for larger orders.
The Brecon-based business has purchased an upgraded, fully automated, six-lane, stick pack machine from Viking Masek, which joins two, smaller sachet packing machines at the modern production facility.
The investment, which gives the company greater flexibility to meet orders of all sizes, also includes an associated Markem 9750 continuous inkjet printer to code sachets.
New Beacon Foods products available in sachets include Habanero wildflower honey, soya caramel sauce, olive oregano Provencal sauce, Tzatziki, garlic oil, chilli oil, garlic aioli, honey mustard marinade and semi-dried tomato sauce.
The company started supplying products in sachets on a small scale in 2022-‘23 with a single lane machine capable of a weight range between 30 to 250 grams. There are now two of these machines which each produce between 40 to 50 sachets per minute.
“These machines are great for when our customers require smaller volume orders, but, with rising demand for larger quantities, we needed to invest in an upgraded, multi lane machine,” explained Beacon Foods chairman, Edward Gough.
The Viking Masek ST800 packs up to 240 sachets per minute – dependent of fill weight – and counts a set amount into finished packs. The sachets are 60mm wide and can be of varying length and weights of between 10 and 100 grams.
“We opted to upgrade to the ST800 model to allow us to hot fill product straight from cooking,” explained Jas Singh, Beacon Foods’ operations director. “The Markem 9750 continuous inkjet printer can handle the throughput with ease.”
A global packaging automation leader, Viking Masek says the ST800 is ideal for high-volume packaging of products, delivering flexibility and precision for a wide range of applications and stick pack shapes.
Key features include IQ /OQ compliant for regulated industries, supports both liquid and powder product types, customisable pouch formats with pour spouts, tear notches and easy-open features and available with fully automated solutions for cartons.
A continuous inkjet printer, the Markem Imaje 9750 codes all packaging shapes, sizes and types.
Beacon Foods has invested more than £6 million to double the size of the company’s manufacturing and storage facilities. Customers include food manufacturers, food service, coffee shops, fast food chains and travel and hospitality industries.
