Baker maintains high standards of safety

24 January 2011 – Cornish bakery business, W C Rowe, has switched to high performance metal detection systems from Fortress Technology.

Mick Stevens, at WC Rowe says, “Having dealt with up to three suppliers of detection equipment in the past, we now find it simpler to work with just one company that supplies quality equipment to our specification.

Stevens continues, “Fortress was able to offer a better and more comprehensive service than competitive companies, so it made perfect sense to give the company the contract to take on its own and other manufacturers’ equipment and to maintain it to the same high standard.”

WC Rowe began in Falmouth in 1949 with a single bakery and now has its own manufacturing sites as well as more than 20 shops throughout the South West, including concessions at three Asda stores.

It also supplies Rowe’s branded and own label products to national retailers and supermarkets throughout the UK and prides itself on its long-standing reputation for providing high-quality tasty food year after year.

The company’s high standards ensure that, every year, it is awarded Grade A international certification by the British Retail Consortium for food safety standards. It was also awarded the coveted national Baker of the Year Award 2009.

WC Rowe, which has been using Fortress metal detectors for three years to ensure those high standards of safety continue, and currently has five Fortress machines on its production lines, is looking to add to that number in the future.

Stevens explains, “We have made the decision to switch to Fortress to give uniformity and ease of interchange between lines and sites, allowing us to move equipment to high-volume lines when necessary.

“When recommended to do so we have replaced existing equipment with Fortress, however, to reduce our outlay Fortress has suggested in the past fitting a new detector head on an existing conveyor. As our requirements increase or our obsolescent equipment requires replacement we will continue to use Fortress.”

The five existing Fortress systems are installed on five separate lines across three WC Rowe sites. Operating at speeds of 30 to 600 units per hour, they inspect a variety of product lines from scones and sandwiches to the full savoury range of pasties, sausage rolls and slices.

Concludes Stevens, “Fortress responds quickly to our on-site requirements and backs this service up with solid advice and technical information by telephone. In addition, we value Fortress’s ability to source parts for obsolete equipment as well as maintaining this equipment when other companies would press for replacement. This allows us to replace machinery at a time of our choosing.

“Fortress carries out maintenance to a high standard, using only the necessary parts and the full documentation of what has been carried out, and we would definitely recommend this company to other food manufacturers.”

 

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