Based in Strabane, Northern Ireland, McColgans is a highly respected bakery specialising in premium savoury and sweet pastry products. The company supplies high-quality, delicate pastries across major retail and wholesale sectors, where maintaining flawless product aesthetic and texture is paramount.
McColgans’ packaging department was struggling with unreliable legacy machinery that compromised both output speeds and product quality control:
Chronic Downtime: The bakery relied on an ageing, 20-year-old vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) bagger and multihead weigher that suffered from frequent operational failures.
Obsolescence Risks: Due to the extreme age of the machinery, replacement parts were no longer available from the manufacturer, exposing the bakery to the high risk of prolonged, costly line stoppages.
Slow Operating Speeds: The legacy system was restricted to slow operating speeds of just 30 bags per minute (bpm), creating a severe bottleneck for the wider facility.
Product Damage: The delicate, flaky nature of the pastry meant that conventional dropping and vertical bagging mechanisms frequently caused product breakage and high waste levels.
Following a consultative site visit by Record Packaging’s technical expert, Andrew, a bespoke £275,000 automated weighing and vertical bagging system was designed. The solution prioritised ultra-gentle product handling while substantially accelerating line speeds.
The automated system features:
Soft-Drop Multihead Weigher: A specialised, low-impact multihead weigher designed with shallow-angled chutes and cushioned catch-points to portion delicate pastries accurately without causing structural fracturing.
Impulse Seal Vertical Bagger (VFFS): A modern, high-speed vertical form-fill-seal bagging machine engineered for reliable, continuous operations at elevated speeds.
Incline Forming Tube: An innovative, angled forming tube integrated directly onto the VFFS bagger. This custom configuration breaks the fall and slows the descent of the pastry into the pouch, eliminating the impact damage common in standard vertical drops.
The tailored solution delivered an immediate upgrade to McColgans’ production efficiency, reliability, and product quality:
66% Speed Increase: Packaging speeds immediately jumped from a sluggish 30 bpm to a swift, consistent 50 bpm, significantly increasing total daily factory output.
Flawless Product Integrity: The combination of the soft-drop weigher and the custom incline forming tube completely prevented product damage, ensuring pastries reach customers in perfect condition.
Downtime Eliminated: Replacing the obsolete 20-year-old machinery removed the risk of parts shortages, drastically increasing line reliability and operational uptime.
Future-Proofed Operations: The bakery has successfully transitioned from an obsolete, high-maintenance bottleneck to a high-speed, reliable, and exceptionally gentle automated packaging process.
