Success Story - Dover Corporation

Success Story
www.tippertie.com
“Raw” Demand Spurs Need for New Packaging Line
Founded in 1979, Blue Ridge Beef manufactures raw pet food
from its two facilities in North Carolina and Georgia. Products
include raw beef (with and without organ meats), chicken with
bone, duck with bone and turkey. Owners Steve and Dean pride
themselves on food safety, sourcing only US products from local
suppliers. “We can monitor the quality of the products much
more closely knowing where it comes from. We won’t put our
name on it unless we know exactly what it is,” said Steve. Blue
Ridge Beef differentiates itself from other raw food manufacturers
with a strict adherence to grain-free food. Steve explains, “Some
companies mix in kibble and other fillers. Our pet food is 100%
pure and specific for each individual’s needs, with no preservatives or additives. This makes the educated consumer happy.”
Additionally, all products are manufactured as fresh as possible,
flash frozen overnight at -20° immediately after packaging. Blue
Ridge Beef currently ships its products along the East Coast.
However, as consumer demand for safe, all-natural pet food
reaches new levels, Steve and Dean see opportunity for growth.
With the goal of growing market share to cover the entire United
States, they recognized the need for a faster packaging line.
Flexibility is Key
Blue Ridge Beef currently offers 13 recipes in 2 or 5 lb. chubs.
Catering to premium-quality minded breeders and pet owners, they also respond to requests for new formulas. Therefore,
the new line had to excel at handling many recipes. Flexibility
in handling a variety of coarse and fine products was another
consideration.
A Solution That Works
When it came time to research equipment, Blue Ridge Beef
contacted TIPPER TIE in North Carolina. “They are local, with a
strong reputation and great service. We can’t afford to be down
one day on production,” said Steve. Dean agreed: “Customer
service is the biggest selling point for us. Anyone can put out
a machine, but if it’s not backed with parts and service, the
machine is no good. We love the support we get from TIPPER
TIE.” Blue Ridge Beef invested in a TTFill60 portion filler and a
TT1815 automated double clipper for both production facilities.
Our pet food is 100% pure and specific for each
individual’s needs, with no preservatives or additives.
This makes the educated consumer happy.
Five pound ground chicken chubs ready for flash
freezing.
Success Story: Blue Ridge Beef
Product Quality. The TTFill60 is a vane style stuffer. Blue Ridge
formerly had screw-type fillers. “At first, we weren’t sure how
well portioning would work on a vane stuffer,” said Steve. “But
we’ve had no issues; consistency has been very good.” More
importantly, product quality has reached new levels according
to Dean: “The appearance of our product is critical, so we use a
clear plastic film. It’s important for customers to see the quality
of the meat before they buy it. The TTFill has very clean cut
portions, with no degradation of the product. We’re seeing much
better particle definition, which results in an appealing package
for the customer.” The company plans to add a new Complete
Diet formula in 2014. The product quality from the TTFill will
allow the new ingredient to be seen in the meat.
An additional benefit to the TTFill is a consolidated design with
all electrical wiring enclosed. This water-tight design makes
cleanup fast and easy.
Increased Capacity. The seamless interface between the filler
and clipper, and the overall speed of the two machines, has
been a pleasant surprise. “No matter how much we grow, I don’t
think our continuous feed operation will outpace this duo. I have
two people running it and they can hardly keep up,” said Steve.
Indeed, production time has been cut in half at both locations,
and overtime has been eliminated. The Georgia facility has gone
from a maximum of 4,000 pounds/day to as much as 12,000
pounds/day. Dean commented, “There is a night and day difference going from a manual operation to fully automated. It’s been
a tremendous change and we’re very excited.” And the faster the
product is frozen, the better the shelf life – all good news for the
customer.
Single Source Supplier. The owners of Blue Ridge Beef were also
attracted to the idea of one supplier for two machines. “Now, we
turn to one company for any issue, including consumables. It’s a
wonderful thing!” said Steve. Dean adds: “Single source supply
is the best way to update equipment. It’s the reason we waited
for the filler from TIPPER TIE instead of going with another supplier. We can call one technician for both machines, with no
blame passing between two suppliers.”
Both Steve and Dean would recommend the TT line to their
peers, both for the high performance of the machines as well as
dependable support from one trusted business partner.
For more information contact:
Shelly Ryder
Marketing Manager
TIPPER TIE, Inc.
+1 919 362 8811 x317
sryder@tippertie.com
TIPPER TIE, Inc.
2000 Lufkin Road
Apex, NC 27539 USA
Tel. +1 919 362 8811
Fax +1 919 362 4839
infoUS@tippertie.com
TIPPER TIE TECHNOPACK GmbH
Wilhelm-Bergner-Strasse 9a
21509 Glinde/Germany
Tel. +49 40 72 77 04 0
Fax +49 40 72 77 04 100
infoDE@tippertie.com
TIPPER TIE ALPINA GmbH
Waldau 1
9230 Flawil/Switzerland
Tel. +41 71 388 63 63
Fax +41 71 388 63 00
infoCH@tippertie.com
Compact footprints of the TTFill and TT1815 fits
easily in the Statesville, NC facility.
No matter how much we grow, I
don’t think our continuous feed
operation will outpace this duo.