Carley’s of Cornwall
Organic Nut Butter specialist Carley’s increases productivity tenfold using Adelphi machinery
The Challenge:
To enable a family business’ transition from domestic to full-scale production.
The Solution:
Since meeting Adelphi at a speciality food exhibition in 2006, the Carley’s team has been filling their ever-increasing range of delicious nut butters, chutneys, relishes and more using the Response Benchtop Filler.
The Results:
From 3 staff initially manually filling and capping their 3 products, Carley’s now boasts an exciting portfolio of over 50 nut and seed butters alone, with new products in development all the time. They can now fully process up to 4,000 jars per day – with over 200 cases being filled in less than 2 hours during particularly busy periods!
From Wholefoods suppliers with a passion for domestic cooking, Directors John & Shirley Carley and Rachel Sutton now manufacture their beautifully fresh, organic products from a bespoke outfitted 1/3 acre site – which incredibly is shaped like an almond!
Rachel remembers “we had smaller batches and a smaller range – around 1/10 of what can be achieved now. We’re busier than we’ve ever been!”
Intuitive Machine Use
Adelphi Manufacturing was pleased to recommend the Response Benchtop Filler to suit Carleys’s stage of production growth. The machine is simple and intuitive to use, with 3 minute strip-down for cleaning between different products. This quick-strip design also reduces the potential loss of revenue which occur during more lengthy production downtime. Rachel says “we could have outsourced some of our processes, but that really isn’t us. We like to do everything ourselves, in-house – it fits with our values. Our team all know how to strip and basic service the Response Benchtop Filler.”
The Response handles all viscosities of Carley’s diverse product portfolio with equal ease, and Production Manager Cathy adds “we’ve got the changeover between different containers and products down to a fine art!”
Shared Values – Sustainable Manufacturing
Carley’s and Adelphi Manufacturing both have environmental considerations firmly at the forefront of their business ethos, and have invested in many similar solutions. For example, both sites generate excess electricity from PV solar panels, utilise
rainwater harvesting to reduce dependence on mains water, and have a proactive recycling attitude amongst staff.
Our planet and society are facing new challenges every day, and we must all play our part in driving positive social and environmental change. Both businesses proudly demonstrate that manufacturing can be carried out in an eco-conscious manner.
Automating Filling AND Capping Reduces Wastage Costs
This long-standing – over 20 years! – relationship of trust between the two companies led to Adelphi offering Carley’s the chance to trial the innovative new Response Monobloc filling and capping machine.
Carley’s existing Response Benchtop Filler can fit inside the new Monobloc machine, which means that production can be upscaled without their initial investment being made obsolete.
A key benefit of the Monobloc for Carley’s production is its vacuum capping ability. Previously, manually lidding was creating inconsistencies in torque, which in turn meant that products were leaking oil whilst in transit to customers. Not only was this posing a reputational risk, the wasted product was potentially financially costly in more ways than one. Rachel stresses that “we risked credit claims from one of our biggest private label customers, due to the leaking product being unuseable. Only the good relationship between us prevented this, and they were especially keen for us to get this issue resolved.”
“The vacuum application is working brilliantly, and there have been dramatically fewer
– I can’t really think of any – complaints about leakages.”
Improved Staff Safety & Comfort
Another serious issue generated by manual capping was repetitive strain injury (RSI) amongst Carley’s staff. This has been entirely eradicated by the Monobloc’s vacuum capping system, leading to a higher level of staff happiness and comfort. This was a vital consideration for Rachel and John, who ensure that all colleagues maintain a positive work-life balance by offering a 4 day working week, which includes as much fuss from the Carley’s dogs – Badger, Jasper and Robin – as you can shake a treat at!
Complete In-Person and Remote Support
Although there have been some anticipated teething issues with the new Monobloc machine since installation, Production Manager Cathy enthuses that she enjoys a great relationship with the Adelphi Design Engineer assigned to this project, Anand, who has given technical support in person where possible, and using video conference call if not. Remote monitoring is enabled by connecting to the PLC, to quickly diagnose and fix problems.
Incidentally, whilst conducting testing on the Monobloc, Anand identified flaws and inconsistencies with Carley’s jar caps – this led to Carley’s changing their supplier, and has also improved the costs lost through waste!
The main benefits to date for the Carley’s team have been:
- An increase in filling capacity, from manual to semi-automatic, which has enabled larger orders to be fulfilled, from a significantly expanded portfolio of delicious products! The Monobloc also offers a fully automated filling function, which Carley’s will begin utilising in the months to come.
- The extreme reduction of jars wasted through leakage – from 30% expected wastage whilst manually capping, to just <0.07% wastage using the Monobloc!
Adelphi are proud to have been by the side of the Carley’s team throughout this extraordinary journey of growth, and look forward to continuing our very special relationship for years to come. Watch a video of Carley’s Response Monobloc Filler in-action >>>
