“Counting is an essential part of our core business,” says Noud van der Linden. Noud is an engineer in our Vetico Innovation Center. Together with his colleagues, he has produced 13 counters for centerpiece and pouch lines, which we are going to deploy for one of our larger confectionery customers.
“Counters are nothing new, of course,” says Noud. “We’ve been using them for decades to ensure that the mix of candies in a package is exactly in proportion. For example, a mixed package containing eight different candies might have to contain six of one kind of candy, four of another, and so on.”
Greater speed
The “old” counters worked perfectly, but as Noud explains: “We wanted to increase the speed. So in around 2017 we started customizing our counters. By using new controls, different counting principles and advanced sensors, we’ve already managed to increase the number of deposits from forty to more than seventy. That’s quite an achievement, but then we received the request for even greater volume, and therefore higher output.”
Taking control
That was the perfect moment for our engineers to step up and take control. “We built new counters that incorporated everything we wanted,” says Noud, nodding. “The end result was twelve new counters, plus one extra. We will use the thirteenth one when we have to do maintenance or fix a technical problem. We’ll then simply connect the extra counter, enabling the line to continue running as usual.”
More benefits
There are many benefits to the counters. Noud explains about switching to other product formats, and about “dynamic” programming, in which the counter calculates its own production speed based on the desired output entered by the operator. “We’ve also designed them to be easy to dismantle for cleaning or maintenance,” says Noud. “In short, these counters are perfectly suited to our production processes.”
Center are always turning”
Customization in the future
Looking ahead, it is unlikely that we will be producing future counters ourselves. Noud: “We could if we wanted to, but the question is: should we? It’s not our core business. Instead, it’s more logical for us to team up with a machine builder who can produce the counters or their components for us, based on our designs. One thing’s for sure: we’ll never go back to purchasing standard counters.”
What lies ahead
Our engineers are already considering a version 2.0, which may make its mark in a couple of years’ time. “We will be incorporating improvements and further innovations in that version,” says Noud. “For example, a four-channel counter for larger items or larger packages, or flex-counters that can process varying quantities of candy. We expect those kinds of questions and requests, and we’re ready for them. In fact, we’re already imagining the solutions. The cogs in our Innovation Center are always turning.”
