How MARCO Reduces Overpack in the Ready Meal and Convenience Foods:
In the UK ready meal and convenience food sector, a few extra grams per tray can snowball into six figure losses per year, especially across short runs, frequent changeovers, and multi ingredient recipes. Our approach combines semi automated combination weighing, closed loop checkweighing, and real time Yield Control to virtually eradicate giveaway, lift productivity, and strengthen retailer compliance.
The Giveaway Problem in Ready Meals:
- Multi ingredient complexity: Sticky, delicate, or multi ingredient products complicate weighing and increase variability.
- Fast changeovers: Without tool less design, hygiene breaks and SKU switches add drift and downtime.
- Limited real time feedback: If weights aren’t monitored and corrected before sealing, errors compound downstream.
- Traceability gaps: Without station level data and operator accountability, supervisors can’t intervene early to keep averages on target.
Portion Accuracy
For multi‑ingredient trays and meal kits, our Combination Weighers remove operator guesswork by selecting the optimal ingredient combination instantly and accurately.
For lines that demand frequent washdowns and fast SKU switches, the CombiMaster delivers< 1% giveaway and 20–30% yield improvement in high‑care environments, ideal for sticky or delicate products and rapid changeovers.
The SelectMaster consists of twelve independent scale pans that intelligently calculate the optimal combination, instantly and accurately, virtually eradicating giveaway, while increasing line speed and overall productivity. Accuracy is 1g per pan, with typical pack rates up to 20–28 ppm (product‑dependent).
The SelectMaster Automatic is equipped with twelve independently driven conveyors and high precision load cells. It intelligently calculates the optimal weight and count combinations for consistent accuracy in every pack. This ensures maximum efficiency and precision for high-speed packing operations.
Why it matters: combination weighing selects the optimal ingredient combination instantly and accurately, so operators don’t need to overfill “just in case”.
Checkweighing
Designed for high-precision performance, the MARCO Checkweighers guarantee 100% of finished packs meets exact weight specifications, maintaining product quality and compliance.
- Checkweigh & Rework Station: designed for open products, enabling corrective adjustments pre‑seal/close, with high‑accuracy capture, product presets, and seamless integration to YCM.
- End‑of‑line Checkweigher: Hygienic checkweigher built for high-precision performance. It ensures every pack meets exact weight specifications, maintaining product quality and compliance. As items move along the line, weights are measured in real time, and any out-of-tolerance packs are automatically diverted for inspection, guaranteeing accuracy and efficiency.
Unlock Data-Driven Consistency with MARCO Yield Control Software
The MARCO Yield Control Software Module (YCM) is designed to transform your production process through intelligent automation and real-time insights. By leveraging Automatic Optimisation (AO) at every workstation, YCM ensures precise target control, while operator RFID login delivers full accountability and traceability across your line.
With live dashboards tracking key metrics such as packs per minute (ppm), average weights, and rework rates, you gain complete visibility and control.
Results you can expect
- Giveaway reduction: <1 – 2.5% depending on product and configuration
- Productivity uplift: 20–30% through faster combination selection, guided workflows and less rework.
- Rapid ROI: typically, within a season to 12–18 months, driven by lower waste, labour efficiencies and uptime.
Explore how the MARCO can reduce overpack and improve productivity in your production processes.