Sandiacre and Rose Forgrove are globally renowned names in the field of produce machinery. Sandiacre specialises in vertical form, fill and seal machinery, while Rose Forgrove concentrates on the horizontal form, fill and seal market. With 150 years of experience between them, both companies are well placed to address the evolving needs of their customer base, especially in one of their core markets: fresh produce.

A key area of Sandiacre's development is in eliminating packing-related product damage. A fully stainless, tilting, rail-mounted TG320LD has been accepted as a first-class solution to the problem of product bruising and disintegration when packaging delicate broccoli and cauliflower florets.

The TG320LD machine can be tilted at any angle to a maximum of 45? from vertical. Being rail-mounted means the machine can be readily re-aligned with the product feed device and moved to a remote location during washdown.

A market-leading position has been achieved in potato-packing by developing Sandiacre's continuous motion TG350-RC vertical form, fill and seal machine. It is now packing a wide portfolio of potato types and sizes into a broad range of pack configurations. A major benefit is its ability to pack significant weights at high speed without increasing damage to the product, particularly sensitive main-crop potatoes.

The combination of the latest in motion-control technology and a specially designed low-drop-former ensure a softer catch of the product into the bag, minimising the potential for tuber damage. Potatoes in weights of up to 5kg can be dropped in one dose without blocking, thus allowing speeds of 50 packs a minute with main-crop potatoes. The larger version TG450-RC has recently been launched to produce high-volume packs of produce ranging from 140mm to 450mm wide and of infinitely variable length. Maximum speed is in the region of 120 packs a minute.

Meanwhile Rose Forgrove offers many Merlin, Minerva and Interga Flowpak® flow-wrappers employed for the packaging of delicate produce such as tomatoes, salads, peppers, brand-selected baking potatoes, cucumber, corn-on-the-cob, mushrooms and fruit including peaches and strawberries. Already a recognised supplier of high quality packing machines for both salad and vegetables, Rose Forgrove's Flowpak® flow wrappers can also be used for gas-flushing processes where extended shelf life is required. The box motion, reciprocating jaw of the top-of-the-range Integra PC offers impeccable high-integrity seal quality and comes recommended for such applications. One Sandicare customer, a major radish grower said that Sandiacre's TG250LE is "capable of high output, is user-friendly, very accessible, and has good hygiene features. It performs in an efficient manner, washdowns are easily performed by operatives using food grade bleach, and after-sales spares and service facilities are easily accessible."

A customer packing carrot and swede batons, potatoes for boiling, casserole vegetables, shredded cabbage, potatoes for roasting and potato wedges into gas flushed gable-top, block-bottom packs said: "The Sandiacre brand was chosen simply because it fitted the bill. Sandiacre is renowned in the trade for its reliability, the machines have performed extremely well, and they have an excellent name in the trade."

Operators like the machines because they are easy to operate. Machines are easily retro-fitted with necessary change parts to produce a variety of pack formats. With a demanding cycle of product and film changes and short product runs, machine flexibility is of paramount importance. Film changeover is a simple five-minute operation. Changeover between pack volumes is simplified by a user-friendly software menu system, which accommodates full product diversity.