SubscribeIshida Europe is lending its support to a major training initiative for the UK food industry with the donation of a state-of-the-art packing machinery line for a new Technical Food Training Centre being established at the University of Lincoln’s Holbeach Campus.
The proposed Centre is the result of an initiative by leading food companies in Lincolnshire to address the chronic shortage of well-trained technical operators for their businesses. The Centre will form part of a new dedicated building for Holbeach, which has also recently completed a £3 million refurbishment of its existing premises.
The Campus holds Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Food Manufacture status and currently supports over 3,000 part-time students in a full range of food-based courses. The students represent 96 companies including 32 multinational, multi-site organisations and 64 small to medium enterprises.
The new facility will be completed by January 2007 and will be constructed to best practice industry standards, including high care/low care separation with environmental control. The Training Centre will be run as a food manufacturing site with working practices to reflect this.
Ahead of this, a Food Processing Hall is being established in the existing campus building to facilitate the immediate introduction of training courses. Ishida Europe is supplying a complete weighing and packing line for handling fresh foods into pre-formed trays for this hall, comprising automatic Tray Denester, Ishida Fresh Food Weigher, Tray Filling Station, an integrated Checkweigher for identifying under- and overweight trays prior to sealing, a MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packing) Tray Sealer and an integrated Checkweigher and Metal Detector for final quality control of the top sealed trays
Further equipment will be supplied to expand the line once it is installed in the new facility.
The Holbeach Campus provides a wide range of courses covering all levels of skills, from beginners to senior management, and covering NVQ, BTEC, HNC, HND, BSc and post graduate qualifications. It is in the more advanced courses, in particular, that the University sees the need for greater focus and where the new training facilities and Ishida equipment will be most welcome.
"The fact is that many of the low skilled jobs in the food industry are disappearing because of the increased availability of automated processing and packing machinery," comments Val Braybrooks, Holbeach Campus Manager. "In addition, food companies are recognising that in order to continue to expand and to stay ahead of the competition, they need to introduce innovations and added value into their product ranges.
"Both these factors have created a skills level requirement that cannot currently be satisfied and which our new Centre will help to address. To be effective, however, students need to train on the latest and most relevant equipment and we are therefore very grateful for Ishida Europe's support in providing their latest, cutting edge models."
Paul Griffin, Marketing Director of Ishida Europe says the Training Centre initiative mirrors the company's approach to supplying equipment to the food industry.
"We are now positioned as a complete solutions provider, often installing a range of integrated equipment to meet precise weighing and packing line objectives," he explains. "The equipment at Holbeach is typical of what can be found in state-of-the-art ready meals or fresh food processing and packing operations and therefore will help to give students direct and relevant experience of the working environment.
"We are delighted to be able to help with this important initiative which will keep the UK food industry at the leading edge of development and competitiveness."
4 October 2005
Editorial Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0) 1332 293939 Email: info@nmpr.co.uk | Sales/Reader Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0) 121 607 7700 Email: torsten.giese@ishidaeurope.com |