MAP Check 3 boosts efficiency at leading Scandinavian snack maker
KiMs, one of Scandinavia’s leading snack food producers, continually strives for efficiency improvements. It relies on “lean production,” a manufacturing philosophy that considers the expenditure of resources on anything other than increasing value for the customer to be wasteful and therefore a target for elimination.
KiMs lean manager, Flemming Carlsen, is tasked with reviewing ways to improve efficiency and add value for the customer. One of the first areas that Carlsen looked at was the quality-assurance testing on the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) line at KiMs factory in central Denmark. The plant is located in Søndersø and employs 230 people. Metalized film is used to create the snack packages and a high proportion of them are flushed with nitrogen—an inert gas that keeps them fresh for longer and improves their shelf life.