Category Archives: Bench Scales

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Digital Scales

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Food safety is extremely important to all of us. In today’s ultra competitive and fast paced world, it’s imperative that we have laws in place to ensure that the food we eat is as safe as possible.

We hope the article below helps you better understand information about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Ultimately we think this information will highlight the ability of Rice Lake’s washdown products to meet your requirements of commercial processing industries. The FSMA info below not only informs producers about how to meet compliance laws, but demonstrates how Rice Lake scales can help prevent food contamination by the integrity of their construction and design.

For all producers, from the farm to the table, purchasing equipment that meets Sanitary Design Principles (SDP) is considered a mandatory preventative measure by the FDA. Our product offerings that are microbiologically cleanable, hermetically sealed and compatible with hostile environments can greatly assist you in adhering to these strict guidelines.

On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law. The FSMA brought a much-needed focus of food safety laws into the food processing industry as well as to consumers, and the general public as a whole.

The signing of the FSMA was arguably the largest reform to food safety in the previous 70 years. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the FSMA “aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it.” The key focus being prevention versus reaction in regards to food safety, from all aspects and stages of food—from the farm to the table.

The FSMA was spurred into action from an increase in foodborne illnesses in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report almost 1 in 6 Americans fall ill to food borne diseases each year. Foodborne illness became an issue of public health in the early 2000s, enabling the FDA to set higher preventative standards for food safety and elicit enforcement agencies to hold companies to these standards and contain any potential problems before they become a widespread risk of foodborne illness. To do this, the FDA under the FSMA can order companies to recall when needed.

The primary role of the FSMA is prevention. As noted by the FDA, “for the first time, FDA will have a legislative mandate to require comprehensive, science-based preventative controls across the food supply.” This legislative power ensures all U.S. companies that contribute to the food supply, no matter their size, are subject to the authority of the FDA and their preventative and responding agency.

Under the Prevention section of the FSMA, controls are given to the FDA for the following:

• Mandatory preventive controls for food facilities
• Mandatory produce safety standards
• Authority to prevent intentional contamination

These measures need to be qualified by scientific justifications by the FDA and are enforced by legislation. Under the mandatory preventative controls for food facilities is the addition of a preventative control plan that includes the following:

1 ) Evaluating the hazards that could affect food safety
2 ) Specifying what preventive steps, or controls, will be put in place to significantly minimize or prevent the hazards
3 ) Specifying how the facility will monitor these controls to ensure they are working
4 ) Maintaining routine records of the monitoring
5 ) Specifying what actions the facility will take to correct problems that arise.

Purchasing and using equipment that meets the Sanitary Design Principles (SDP) falls under these mandatory preventative measures as a control to prevent or minimize the possibility of foodborne contamination and disease. Continue reading →

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Digital Weight Scales

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Maintaining a pristine environment is absolutely critical to the success of food manufacturers. Unhygienic conditions within food manufacturing plants can have a potentially catastrophic impact on public health, not to mention the public relations and revenue impact on the company in question. It is not surprising, therefore, that increased consumer awareness and demand has seen safety standards become increasingly rigorous.

It is vital that companies manufacturing weighing equipment for the food industry ensure that the products they supply comply with best practices and meet strict legislative requirements. On a food production line, fast and accurate check weighing is vital to a company’s bottom line – the visibility of weighing data and statistics can help maximize performance and profitability – but the equipment chosen must meet stringent design requirements when it comes to construction and ease of cleaning.

With U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deadlines for small and medium sized companies to meet requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) hitting in late September 2017, the industry is under pressure to deliver high quality food while also meeting the requirements of this new legislation.

The date for registered companies with greater than 500 employees to comply with the first FSMA rule Preventive Controls was September 2016. For companies with fewer than 500 employees, the compliance date was September 2017.

Why is the FSMA being implemented?

The new rules are intended to minimize the serious illness and death that can be caused by unsafe food products, by focusing on preventing food contamination throughout the entire production process.

The link between HACCP, HARPC and FSMA

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a systematic, preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe. It focuses on the hazards that are unique to the product being manufactured, so the concerns for a seafood processor will be different from those of a coffee roasting company.

With the implementation of FSMA, HACCP becomes a part of a food manufacturer’s compliance to Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls (HARPC). In short, the FSMA act aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it.

Digital Weigh Scales

This risk-based, preventive approach to food safety relies on data and expertise to pinpoint potential food safety issues along the production, distribution and supply chain. The FDA has advised that facilities should set up a thorough system for documenting internal processes and record keeping, so that they can clearly demonstrate that legal standards are being met.

As a crucial element in most industrial manufacturing processes, weighing equipment for the food industry, can play an important role in FSMA adherence procedures, including, for example:

  • Updating weighing equipment to more hygienic options, such as stainless steel and a fully enclosed cover for easy and efficient washdown.
  • Ensuring that weighing equipment is used effectively: for instance, using checkweighers at appropriate points in the production process to obtain and record production data.
  • Weighing solutions such as the ZQ375 or IP rated bench and indicators can help food suppliers to achieve both backward and forward traceability (be able to identify where all the ingredients came from and where they went).
  • Using the right scales to provide the most accurate, legal for trade weights, to avoid mislabelling and eliminate costly mistakes or re-works.
  • IP69K enclosures ensure instrumentation protection in heavy washdown environments.

Many companies, regardless of size, need to be looking for digital scales and weighing systems to help them to align their current HACCP and HARPC processes in order to meet FSMA requirements.

Heavy wash-down: IP69K

Equipment used in the food processing industry must be able to withstand rigorous wash-down procedures. Designed specifically to kill micro-organisms and bacteria, this heavy duty cleaning process typically uses high temperature, high pressure jet sprays and detergents. The combination of water, chemicals, high pressures and temperatures used in this cleaning process can prove fatal for electronic circuits and instrumentation.

food safety scale weight indicator

The Ingress Protection (IP) rating system is an internationally recognized scale that relates to proven protection against environmental factors such as liquids and solids. A product with the highest rating available, IP69K, offers complete assurance that it has been subjected to a challenging set of tests to ensure protection against penetration of high pressure, high temperature water and dust particles – making it ideal for use in conditions where equipment must be carefully sanitized.

Scales designed to resist extreme temperatures

In the food industry, equipment such as check weighing scales may be subject to rapid temperature change, whether due to operating conditions or wash down procedures. Extremes of temperature inside and outside the enclosure can result in expansion and contraction of gases, which in turn can lead to moisture and humidity becoming trapped inside.

When selecting a piece of weighing equipment for use in the food industry, ensure that the manufacturer has not only recognized the challenges posed by this stringent environment, but also risen to them by incorporating design elements into the structure of the product that will counter issues such as humidity and condensation

 

Eliminating bug and food trap areas

The process of welding two pieces of stainless steel together can have implications for the corrosion resistance of the metal. Ideally, the surfaces of your equipment/scale should be continuously welded within an inert gas atmosphere – helping to ensure that the metal remains corrosion and crack resistant and that there are no edges or un-leveled surfaces that could trap food particles or impede cleaning.

Areas of the product that have internal corners and angles of less than 135° – and which come into contact with food – should have a smooth, rounded finish to minimize food trap areas.

Scale designs should, where possible, avoid flat horizontal areas to stop water from collecting. However, in some applications, offering a flat under structure base design can be more hygienic than open tubular base frames where high pressure cleaning can cause food particles to bounce off the work surface and lodge deep inside the loadcell area, making it harder to clean.

Fully welded tubular designs can also be hard to clean. A welded structure can result in bacteria becoming trapped within the tube and thriving in the constantly changing atmosphere often found within the food industry. Conversely, base designs with flat bases and open corners ensure that any food particles can be quickly and easily washed away during high pressure cleaning.

Threads should be covered and small components such as rubber feet should be well secured and bright blue in color, allowing them to be easily located should they become detached from the scale.

Safeguarding your business

Investing in a new digital check weigher scale is all about safeguarding quality and, fundamentally, profits – underweight packages can lead to unhappy customers, while overweight packages lead to costly giveaway and overweight shipments. When it comes to the food industry, safeguarding quality, profit and reputation must go one step further – selecting a piece of equipment that is fit for purpose is vital.

To maintain food safety and meet the requirements of the act, it may be necessary for many businesses to upgrade to equipment that is more sanitary.

Contact the sales team at Central Carolina Scale, (919) 776-7737 to discuss the products that we recommend.

Cardinal Admiral Series Bench Scales Now IP69K Rated

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IP69K Rated for Washdown Weighing Applications

Cardinal Scale Manufacturing Admiral bench scales now feature an IP69K-rated load cell and indicator, so any sensitive electronics are fully protected against close range high-pressure, high-temperature spray downs making them ideal for the food processing industry where equipment must be carefully sanitized.

The Admiral’s heavy-duty stainless steel base is built solidly for high-usage durability. The bright, vivid ColorZONE display changes color automatically as pre-assigned target weights are reached for efficient check weighing.

In environments that require heavy washdowns, such as in the food processing industry, the combination of water, chemicals, high pressure and high temperature can prove fatal for electronic circuits and instrumentation. The Admiral bench scale’s IP69K rating offers the highest protection rating possible.

washdown safe load cell

Built for extreme-use applications in the weighing industry, the 190 STORM’s IP69K-rated polycarbonate enclosure withstands high-temperature (up to 176º F / 80º C), high-pressure wash downs (1450 PSI). The 190 STORM features capacitive touch keys, 1-inch-high clearly visible LCD digits, built-in RS232 communications port, and versatile power options: AC, DC, and rechargeable battery.

The 190 STORM’s bright, vivid display changes color automatically as the pre-assigned target weights are reached. The operator knows immediately when they’ve reached the acceptable weight range based on the amber, green, or red color changes for UNDER, ACCEPT, or OVER weights. NTEP, OIML, and Measurement Canada.

The Admiral’s colorful 190 STORM indicator is positioned at the optimum viewing height and out of the way of the product being weighed. The display tilt feature allows the display to be positioned just right for each operator.

The entire LCD display can be set to any of seven different ColorZONE colors during checkweighing. This exclusive ColorZONE feature takes the guesswork out of the weighing process making the Admiral the top bench scale in the industry.

The Admiral’s polycarbonate and ABS enclosure to the weight display is watertight and allows operation in the harshest of environments while the stainless base and column construction ensure long-lasting durability.

The scale’s 190 STORM indicator features four captive screws in the back panel, so they cannot be lost when unscrewed (important for food processing applications).

Contact the sales team at Central Carolina Scale today. Call (919) 776-7737 or visit centralcarolinascale.com and click the Request a Quote button.

Reducing Food Waste is Becoming an Important Source of Increased Revenue for Commercial Kitchens

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According to the USDA, every year the United States wastes an estimated 30 to 40 percent of its food supply. Statista reports that, in 2015, of the USDA estimates, roughly 16 percent of all food waste is attributed to restaurants and foodservice institutions-nearly one-fifth of all wasted volume! This is a huge source of overhead costs, but also a great source of improvement for food service entities to leverage in retaining their hard-earned profits. With food costs rising, waste reduction systems are becoming more important to reduce strain from front-end costs.

Waste reduction companies are taking advantage of this need for tracking inventory and getting more accurate weight counts. DETECTO Enterprise series scales, PS portion control scales, and PZ series wireless ingredient scales are all very important tools to aid the fight to increase inventory efficiency, and ultimately, creating increased profits. The accompanying advances in connectivity-Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth-create a more streamlined process for saving inventory data and yield a precise representation of a facility’s inventory strengths and weaknesses.

detecto food service scale

DETECTO’s foodservice scales are the first line in establishing a solid reduction program. High weight-resolution scales deliver highly precise weights and the associated costs. The ability to audit cooking processes and concomitant prices concretely establishes hard data to analyze. This analysis implementation forms the possible paths to be executed by foodservice management and personnel.

Facilities can track reduction areas, foodstuffs to be saved or discarded, and foodstuffs that can be repurposed. Knowing the usage levels of each product determines which products to reduce and where businesses waste capital. Product usage levels can help businesses push certain menu items and discard those that don’t sell well.

Businesses can more accurately spot and predict trends in their kitchens in a highly responsive manner. With the power to trend waste areas, kitchens can adjust their cooking implementation, labor cycles, use more efficient recipes, and utilize batch cooking to match customer trends. This knowledge can better serve the needs of their customer base and attract new clientele.

The power of an efficient waste reduction system yields amazing results with effort and consistency. Businesses can expect to save significant amounts of front-end revenue, revenue that can be circulated back into other costs and investments. Foodservice businesses large and small can now bolster their earnings and alleviate one of the most costly factors in their respective operations. And it all begins with a weight measurement of the wasted food combined with a digital tracking system for recording that measured waste.

Learn more about DETECTO foodservice scales by contacting the sales team at Central Carolina Scale, call (919) 776-7737 or visit the site at  https://www.centralcarolinascale.com/Detecto.htm

Our Scale Helps us to Reduce Waste, Accurately Weigh our Meat, and Ensure Customer Gets What was Ordered.

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We dare you to read this blog post and not crave a big juicy burger! The pictures and the write up tell the story about how a restaurant uses the Kilotech counter top dial scale for simple and consistent check weighing. Whether you’re weighing ingredients for gourmet burgers or pizza, the ingredient costs can really add up and customers love consistency when it comes to their foods they order on a regular basis. So let’s take a look at Notre-Boeuf-de-Grâce, cleverly named after Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, the Montreal neighborhood where it resides.

weigh meat and food ingredients

Do you ever crave a burger where the flavor explodes the minute you sink your teeth into it? Top the burger with super fresh ingredients and it is like a party in your mouth! Well two years ago, in my quest for gourmet burgers, I chanced upon a new upscale burger place called Notre-Boeuf-de-Grâce. The décor is a mix of brick, wood and glass, designed to enhance your culinary experience. The music is excellent and covers most tastes.

Their menu offers something for everyone and most certainly will not leave you hungry. Fresh meat is ground daily and is always gluten-free because there are no fillers. There are also vegetarian options for the non-carnivores. Choose from their fresh cut fries (they really are fresh as we brought some home and two days later they were still intact, not soggy or hard!), beer battered onion rings, sweet potato fries and potato skins to complement your burger. Also available and made in-house are their gravies, sauces, milkshakes and cocktails. Notre-Boeuf-de-Grâce also supports local suppliers and serves locally-grown food as much as possible.

A couple of weeks ago, while dining at the Notre-Boeuf-de-Grâce Côte-Vertu location, the manager Dennis Mandros approached us and asked us how we were enjoying our meal. Considering how busy the restaurant was that night, we were surprised to see that the manager was going from table to table providing that personal VIP touch! I took the opportunity to ask him if he used a scale to weigh his patties. When he replied, “Yes, absolutely!,” I just had to know if it was a Kilotech scale.

countertop dial scale

Dennis immediately went to the kitchen and like a proud father of a newborn child, held a Kilotech scale in his hands to show me! I knew then and there I had to write a blog about Dennis and his restaurant. When a restaurant uses a scale to ensure that their customers get what they paid for you know that they have the customers best interest at heart.

A few weeks later, on a beautiful Monday afternoon, I showed up at the restaurant. Dennis Mandros and Zakria Dehghani, the owners of this franchise, were hamming it up with their customers on the terrace. When they spotted me, they both greeted me with the kind of warm smiles you reserve for your long lost friends.

I sat down with Dennis and we talked business. I quickly cut to the chase and asked him what his Kilotech scale meant to them. Without hesitation Dennis said that it helps them to reduce wastage, accurately weigh their patties, and more importantly, ensure that the customer gets exactly what was advertised and ordered.

Their burgers come in three sizes: 3, 6 and 9 ounces. Dennis asked one of the cooks to grab a 6 oz. patty. He placed it on the scale and immediately the scale showed 6 oz. Dennis beamed! He is proud of his restaurant and the integrity with which it operates.

If you operate a restaurant, bakery or some other type of food related business; contact us at (919) 776-7737 and let us assist you with your weighing needs. It could be that you need a simple way to make sure your hamburgers weigh the same. Or it could be something else, either way, the odds are we can find a solution for you that will save you time and save you money.

I Want To Buy A Scale That Is Made In The United States of America.

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The title of this blog post sounds simple enough, right? Many customers are interested in purchasing lots of different items that are made in America versus buying items made in China and other countries. But, I would like to ask you a question…

What exactly do you consider “Made in America”?

The reason I bring this up is that it’s really difficult to find certain types of scales that meet a certain definition.

According to the FTC, for most products there is no law requiring manufacturers and marketers to make a “Made in USA” claim. But if a business chooses to make the claim, the FTC’s Made in USA standard applies. Made in USA means that “all or virtually all” the product has been made in America. That is, all significant parts, processing, and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. Products should not contain any – or should contain only negligible – foreign content. The FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement and its business guide, Complying with the Made in USA Standard, spell out the details, with examples of situations when domestic origin claims would be accurate and when they would be inappropriate.

For simplicity, let’s look at an industrial floor scale as an example.

Ok so you’re looking to buy an American Made floor scale. Did you know that almost every floor scale that is built in the USA utilizes (4) load cells that were made in China? With that being the case, let’s say your floor scale was built in Rice Lake, Wisconsin but uses load cells from China.  Do you still consider this scale an American Made item?

industrial floor scale

Did you also know that many of the junction boxes and summing boards are made overseas? Finally, did you know that the home run cable, the fifteen foot long cable that connects the scale to your digital weight indicator is probably constructed overseas? And, what about the steel used in the floor scale? Was it purchased domestically?

Sticking with the floor scale example, next area to consider is the digital weight indicator. Is it one hundred percent made in the USA? Were all the boards and components made in America? How about the display board? The plastic or stainless steel enclosure? Was the AC adapter made in the USA?

These are some interesting things to consider. I know of many people who can justify buying a scale that was constructed and calibrated in the USA but does utilize some Chinese components. However, there are some who absolutely want their products to be 100 % made in America.  Are there any scales that can one hundred percent meet that?

From our standpoint as a distributor it can be quite tricky since we are not involved in the actual manufacturing process. We have had numerous scale manufacturers tell us over the years that they build Made in the USA weighing equipment and then over time they slowly start substituting Chinese parts or in some cases, send all the manufacturing over to China. Unless the scale manufacturer tells us, sometimes we are not even aware that anything has changed in the manufacturing process.

So if buying a Made in the USA scale is important to you, contact us and we can help you. Just be sure to specify to us up front how flexible you wish to be when it comes to things like Chinese components such as load cells being a part of the final product.

In our experiences, many customers may originally start a transaction as a “Made in the USA” fanatic but once they discover certain prices and lead times for domestic components, they become a fanatic of “Made in U.S. from Imported Parts” or “Assembled in U.S.A.”.

The New Look of the UWE PS2 Stainless Steel Scale and Why It Matters

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The UWE PSII (PS2) is a Stainless Steel, Washdown bench scale that is great for sanitary applications, as you can lightly spray it off without worry of damaging the scale. This scale comes with a stainless steel load cell as well, so rust and water damage is less of an issue over time. This is great for food production, and messy environments. The manufacturer lists this scale as IP67 rated.

FDA safety regulations on food production have compelled process equipment manufacturers to rethink their designs. The UWE PS2 sets the pace for industry standards by producing a medium capacity food service bench scale that utilizes easy to clean stainless steel parts which wipe out the chances of food particles becoming trapped or hidden during washdown.

The PS2 features all stainless steel platform, pillar, indicator, load cell and base. This means easy to clean for food processing or harsh environments / washdown resistant scale. The open pillar design allows for thorough washdown with less chance of food particles remaining. Heavy duty construction Will withstand harsh industrial operation and the sealed electronics leads to improved water and dust resistance. The low profile design is easy to load and unload with platform only 3.7 inches high. The scale displays weight in grams, pounds and pounds:ounces for flexibility of operation.

The UWE PS2 stainless steel scale is great for stationary applications or can easily be moved around with the built-in rechargeable battery or external power adapter. The battery lasts a minimum of 100 hours (without backlight). Automatic power save conserves battery power. And, Low battery indicator / charge status indicator alerts you to charge the battery, saving downtime.

Accumulation function allows you to add together consecutive weights to arrive at a total. Adjustable stainless steel feet with rubber inserts help to make sure the scale remains level for accurate results on uneven working surfaces – anti-slip. The wide angle LCD display with backlight can be seen from a wide viewing angle. Gravitational correction software enables you to input different G acceleration factors.

Food safety regulations have caused manufacturers to adjust or improve their designs over time. The UWE PS2 was recently redesigned and utilizes easy to clean stainless steel parts which wipe out the chances of food particles becoming trapped or hidden during wash down with water. The easily accessible pillar design eliminates the chance of food particles remaining behind after washdown.

uwe ps2 scale designed for food safety

• Same Dependable Bench Scale
• New FDA Safe Pillar Design
• Rechargeable Battery Eliminates Cord Clutter
• Stainless Steel Parts Made For Washdown
• Large Back-lit Display
• Gravity Compensation
• Accumulation

Contact our sales department today for additional information regarding the UWE Scale lineup. You can call us at 919-776-7737 or complete our request for quote form on our website.

Are You Paying For Your Frozen Yogurt Cup too?

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Believe it or not, the warmer months will be here before long and we’ll all be looking to cool down at the local froyo shop. Today, many of these frozen yogurt shops allow the consumer to dispense as much frozen yogurt he or she wants. 

The yogurt is priced at around fifty cents per ounce, so if you want many different flavors or a cup that is filled sky high, you can. However, the real question is are you paying for just the yogurt and toppings that you consume or are you also paying for the cup that the yogurt is placed in?

Many yogurt shops determine price based on the weight of the yogurt and toppings, but they are required to subtract the weight of the cup or package first (which is called the tare weight). According to Jerry Butler, NCDA & CS Weight and Measures program manager, not every shop is aware of that. Butler heads a team of 24 inspectors whose job is to inspect scales in the state, and he guesses that they’ve inspected around a hundred or so yogurt shops so far. Of those, he estimates about 75 percent have not been using their scales properly. “Say you’re a family of four,” Butler says, “you could be paying up to a dollar extra just for the weight of the cups. So it’s important that the shops know how to use their scales.”

Now that the NCDA & CS inspectors have discovered that yogurt shops use scales, they’re keeping an eye out for them as they drive to other jobs. If they see a frozen yogurt shop while they’re out, they’ll step inside to inspect it. Most shops that have been violating are quick to correct their mistakes, which were usually made in ignorance, Butler says. A second offense would result in a notice of violation, and a third offender must pay a penalty of up to $5,000. So what can frozen yogurt eaters do to make sure they’re getting the most yogurt for their buck? “The bottom line is: the consumer needs to look and ask,” Butler says. “Make sure that the yogurt shop employee uses the tare. And if they’re not, the consumer needs to call me.”

Fortunately for frozen yogurt shop owners, we have electronic scales available that make this process fairly easy to accommodate. Contact the sales staff today (919) 776-7737 and they will be happy to provide you with prices for the legal for trade scales that will work best to accommodate weighing frozen yogurt by the ounce, and using the tare feature to subtract out the weight of the cup.

scale for weighing frozen yogurt by the ounce

Scales for Every Application 

We have standard legal for trade counter top scales. We have point of sale scales that can connect to your cash register. Finally, we have price computing scales that can display the weight and price on both the front of the scale and the back of the scale. 

We offer over 40,000 products (and counting) — the largest selection of quality weighing products available—and the best customer service in the business. Contact us today for all of your scale needs.

Doran Scales Updates 7000XLM Digital Weight Indicator

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Doran has been manufacturing digital scales for forty years. This milestone was a great reason for them to take a look at their indicator lineup and make some adjustments. One of the biggest changes is a focus on Made in the USA quality. They have actually been able to source many more of their components from USA sources. In fact, according to Doran, if you buy a 7000XL with a 10″x10″ base and column, all products in that build were sourced from USA vendors. That’s pretty impressive in today’s competitive environment.

doran scales built in America

Another change that Doran has made is to replace the 8000XL bench scale and digital weight indicator. Actually, this is not a surprise since the only real difference between the 7000XL and the 8000XL was a battery. So if you were a fan of the 8000XL scale or the 8000XLM digital indicator, then all you need to do is order a 7000XL with optional battery.

Doran challenged the design team to update the indicator line. Doran’s engineers have been working overtime to update our indicator line starting with the 7000XL and 8000XL. Not only that, the purchasing department found ways to bring many items back to the USA. Doran is proud to announce that they will be building many of their products in their plant in Batavia, IL again. They are sourcing metal including indicators, columns and most platforms from superior stainless steel producers in the USA. Touchpanels and boards also come from USA sources.

When you buy a 7000XL with a 10×10 base and column, know that all components were sourced from USA vendors. As they transition products back to the USA, Doran will be labeling products that are built in the US factory and USA sourced components with Built in America label that you see in this blog post. Along with USA manufacture, Doran has made some additional improvements as well. They are excited to introduce improvements like the 7000XL display, which is now 0.8” tall and expanded options. The factory now supports 34 options for the 7000XL weight indicator.

It’s no mystery why so many people turn to the Doran 7000XL for their weighing applications. From capturing plant floor data to a simple dough scale on a baker’s bench, the 7000XL is adaptable to fit your specific needs. Engineered to stand up to the harshest environment, the sealed, heavy duty “Guardian” touch panel resists moisture and puncture damage. The big, bright red LED display is easy to read. IP69K rated Washdown safe, stainless steel is a hallmark of Doran Scales. The heavy gauge 304 stainless steel construction and the gasketed enclosure ensure that the 7000XL will provide many years of trouble-free service.

Choose from a variety of Doran 7000XL models that include columns and attachment brackets to place the weight indicator at an ideal height for your weighing application. Need battery power? Just add option EXOPT308 and you have what used to be called the “8000XL” indicator.

Doran 7000XL Indicator Features

• Built in America
• Variety of data communication options including, wired Ethernet, WiFi, USB, Bluetooth or 4-20mA
• Optional internal rechargeable battery providing up to 60 hours of continuous use
• 304 stainless steel construction
• IP69K washdown protection
• Bright red, 0.8” tall 6 digit LED display
• Heavy duty touch panel with ZERO, UNITS, and PRINT controls
• Units of measure: lb, kg, oz, g, or lb:oz
• Legal for trade in US and Canada
• Dimension configuration software
• Programmable custom data strings

doran 7000xlm weight meter

A couple of additional notes to consider about the Doran product line. The 7000XL display is now 0.8″ tall and the indicator now has thirty four options available. One thing that hasn’t changed is the washdown quality and stainless steel construction. So, if you need a scale for food processing environments with grease and debris clean up is needed, this is your scale. The 7000XL is ideal for washdown situations in food processing plants, dairies, packing houses, bottling plants, breweries, canneries, creameries and much more.

So when it comes to stainless steel washdown bench scales, we usually recommend Doran Scales. In fact, we have received “Top Doran Scales Dealer” awards in the past. Contact our sales team (919) 776-7737 for additional information and price quotes.

Cardinal Scale’s Digital Fill Control Improves Efficiency for Cherry Packing

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In preparation for the busy summer harvest season, fruit distributors find tremendous value in equipment improvements and workflow efficiency.

Recently, an authorized Cardinal Scale dealer outfitted a cherry packing shed in California with an upgraded packing system. This operation utilizes a conveyor belt system to transport sorted cherries to be packaged using Cardinal Scale static scales and weight indicators.

fruit packing scales

The initial weigh-in is performed on 14 conveyor lines using Cardinal Scale’s EB-150-LPAN bench scales and 225 Navigator weight indicators. The customer uses Cardinal Scale’s digital fill control software that comes standard on the 225 indicator and an RB4 relay to control the speed of the conveyor belt filling the cherry packages. When an appropriate weight has been reached, the indicator stops the belt and the container is sent down conveyor rollers to the next work station. The operator is not required to press any keys to continue filling the next container.

The filled cherry container then goes down the conveyor line to the checkweigher, comprised of a Cardinal Scale EB-150-LPAN bench scale with 190 Storm wash down indicator. This station utilizes the ColorZONE feature on the 190 indicator to rapidly indicate over, under, or desirable weight. The 190’s ColorZONE feature overcomes any language barrier that might be an obstacle with reading the indicator. The container is brought to the appropriate weight by manually adding cherries and then sent to final packaging.

The Cardinal Scale system has improved the operation by automating the initial packing process with fill control software.

The cherry packing process has become more productive and the packing shed is ready for the summer produce season. You can read the entire case study here.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in for your business, then give us a call at (919) 776-7737 or fill out our Request for Quote link on our website, centralcarolinascale.com — we are an authorized Cardinal Scale dealer and would be happy to provide you with the right equipment for your weighing needs.