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Accurate Measurements Play Key Role In Productivity

To meet the demands of their growing customer base, it is critical that Peterson’s weighing system is efficient and dependable.

Peterson began as a small family business in 1945 and has grown steadily over the years by meeting its customers’ increasing needs for unique products and flexible, personalized attention. Supplying more than 4,500 specialty food items -- including cheeses, meats, chocolates and desserts -- to fine dining and family restaurants, delicatessens, bakeries, pizzerias and retail grocery markets throughout the country, Peterson needs reliable and accurate equipment to ensure quality and profitability.

The core of Peterson’s business is imported and domestic pre-packaged cheeses mainly distributed to nationwide grocery chains. Peterson’s state-of-the-art distribution facility in Auburn, Wash., is complete with a cut-and-wrap operation. A critical step in that process is precisely weighing the cheese to produce the individual weight/price label that will eventually be scanned during checkout at grocery retailers.

In order to ensure precision and efficiency during this weighing process, Peterson utilizes five OHAUS CKW Checkweighing scales in combination with a specialized proprietary software system called Canopy to collect the weights of each individually wrapped cheese package and generate the corresponding label. After 12 individual packages have been weighed, the system produces a label with the total case count and weight. 

Weighing Options: Upgrading the Measurement System

To meet the demands of their growing customer base, it is critical that Peterson’s weighing system is efficient and dependable. James Brookens, system administrator and project manager at Peterson, was responsible for the decision to integrate the OHAUS CKW scales with the Canopy system. Peterson’s past scales had a poor stability level, leading Brookens to research alternatives.

“Our productivity was being jeopardized by the sensitivity of the previous scales,” says Brookens. “If an employee accidentally bumped the table, the system would produce an additional label, requiring us to strip the labels off the already weighed packages and start the process over. That’s a lot of time and money.”

The company’s criteria for selecting new scales included stability, speed, reliability and food safety conformance.

“The OHAUS CKW scales had all of the features we were looking for,” noted Brookens. “After installing the scales, I was very impressed with the quick stabilization and ease-of-use.”

The checkweigher’s construction and configurability are designed for simplicity, making it easy for Peterson employees to operate the scale. Built from food-safe stainless steel, the checkweigher is ideal for food processing. The scale is NSF listed, USDA-AMS certified and its open framework base is designed for easy cleaning.

The scale also features four adjusting feet that help prevent rocking and tipping. This helps the balance remain level and maintain accuracy during the weighing process, preventing Peterson’s system from producing unwanted labels.  

Accuracy and Stability Result in Increased Efficiency

Incorporating the five scales into its operations has enabled Peterson to increase the efficiency of the weighing process and improve productivity, according to Brookens.

“The OHAUS CKW scales are one of the few pieces of equipment we’ve purchased that we were able to put in place without having to troubleshoot,” he says. “I’ve saved so much time not having to be on the phone working through issues. I’m very satisfied with the scales and as we expand I plan to purchase more.”

Although servicing hundreds of clients across the country can be a challenge, Peterson has produced a system that enables them to do it efficiently. With the use of the scales, Peterson has not only been able to meet the needs of its current clients, but can feel confident continuing to grow its base of customers.

Headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., OHAUS Corporation manufactures high-precision electronic and mechanical balances and scales that meet the demands of virtually any weighing need.  The company is a global leader in the laboratory, industrial, and education channels as well as a host of specialty markets, including the food preparation, pharmacy and jewelry industries. An ISO 9001:2008 manufacturer, OHAUS products are backed by industry-leading customer support. For additional information, contact OHAUS Corporation at 973-377-9000, or visit the Web site at www.OHAUS.com.

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