Small packaging as a specialty
The Swiss company Gugger-Guillod SA supplies its customers with yellow, red, and white onions and shallots year-round. "Business is going very well this season," notes owner Roland Gugger.
“This year is characterized by the fact that the majority of our products are supplied to supermarkets. This reinforces the already growing demand from retailers for ever smaller packages.
These onions are primarily supplied to supermarkets in 250g, 500g, and 1kg packages. Last year, the company invested in automating its packaging line, and combined with the optical sorting line, Gugger-Guillod now has a fully automated process.
Dust and skin extraction as an essential part of the packaging process
Smaller packages mean more operations in the packaging process. A packaging line that operates without interruptions has therefore become even more crucial. The Elisam sorting line has been running with Jongejans extraction for years, so Jongejans was involved in the packaging line's design from an early stage. Extraction is integrated into the line in such a way that dust and skins are extracted at all crucial points.
Jongejans installed two stationary SU-300 units and the "Variochief" extraction system. Jesse Vonk of Jongejans explains: "By placing a vacuum directly before and especially after the weigher, Gugger-Guillod achieves much better results. Clipping the nets works better because no skins remain between them. An additional advantage is that the onions are packed much cleaner, without dust or skins.".
The last remaining onion skins are also extracted, significantly reducing the margin of error in clipping. This results in a more efficient machine, more packs per hour, and less time spent correcting errors.
Like every onion processor, Gugger is proud of every batch of onions they package neatly and beautifully, without dust or skins. Roland Gugger concludes: "I'm very satisfied with the Jongejans extraction system, which also exceeds our expectations in terms of noise and ensures better air quality for our staff!"
