Snowbird has completed the latest phase of a major investment programme that will provide greater manufacturing flexibility and an enhanced service to current and potential customers.

With an Ishida multi-head weigher and an associated form, fill and seal bagging machines, the company is now able to fill packs as small as 0.5 and 1 kilo, handling the same weight of sausages or meat balls in the time previously taken to fill 4 and 6 kilo bags.

“We can now pack in printed film, as well as freezer boxes, so we can offer an enhanced service to customers of frozen food wholesalers and cash and carries,” said Joint Managing Director, Philip Paul.

Other improvements to the factory, plus an extension to the office suite, have also been carried out and the comparative merits of both linear and spiral heavy duty, high speed ovens are now being evaluated.

As the leading UK manufacturer of fully cooked and frozen sausages and meatballs, Snowbird had earlier installed a cooking line, added in-line cookers to selected production lines (thus increasing capacity significantly) and in-line nitrogen freezers to replace blast freezers.

Other improvements within the multi-million pound upgrade included a thermal boiler to power cookers, upgraded control systems, super-hygienic walls and ceilings in the high care area and a high speed bag printer.

When combined with the latest installations, the bag printer has enabled Snowbird to heavily reduce the quantity of cardboard used in the factory, thus enabling it to enhance its “green” credentials.