Company: Fortress Technology

Website: www.fortresstechnology.com

Equipment Snapshot: Food metal detection specialist Fortress Technology will debut in-person its new Raptor weighing series at PACK EXPO in Las Vegas this fall. Responding to the wide-range of industry challenges, including food price hikes and ingredient shortages, the Raptor checkweighing series has been engineered to counteract wasteful and costly product giveaway. 

In a breakthrough advancement for North American food producers battling price volatilities across the domestic and global supply chain, the Raptor series delivers premium weight checks at a highly competitive price point, helping manufacturers to preserve capital and emerge stronger from the pandemic. 

Protecting consumers and brand reputation, as well as meeting legislative weight requirements, the robust Raptor series also targets operational inefficiencies, including upstream product giveaway and packaging waste.

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Fortress is unveiling two Raptor systems—a single frame standalone checkweigher and an XL caseweighing system for ingredient and bulk applications up to 25 kilograms. A heavy duty 50-kilogram version is also available. Operating as a standalone product feed and packing/weighing unit, the Raptor Checkweigher’s modular electronics suite allows for full integration with a Fortress metal detector to create a high-precision combination system.

The new Raptor machines address calls to offset elevated global food prices, particularly ingredient staples including corn and soy prices which have risen globally by 40 percent and 60 percent respectively in the last 22 months. Impacting pricing strategies and profits for bakers, confectioners, free-from manufacturers, producers of chilled meals, condiments, healthy eating and wellbeing products, innovative common features across the range include no-tool maintenance, leading digital software processing, and a totally unique conveyor motor release.  

Being a single OEM that now caters to every inspection need, Fortress Technology is leading the way towards greater production integration and data-driven capabilities. Company founder and President Steve Gidman comments: “Using Raptor’s digital data capture feature, manufacturers can pinpoint upstream operational deficiencies, including overfilling of packs, processing and packaging waste.” 

The standard Raptor checkweigher can weigh anything from 200 lightweight packs and chilled convenience meals in motion, up to a maximum of 8 kilograms. 

A large touchscreen enables food safety operatives to customize statistical information bringing the most relevant parameters to their operation to the foreground. Ranging from net weight, to average weight, to product giveaway, operators simply pick their preference for the home screen. Graphs and visual prompts help to flag and respond to critical trends. 

A must see exhibit for food producers resetting productivity and profit margin targets post-pandemic, see the Raptor debut at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, central hall, Stand C-5404.