Category Archives: Check Weigh Scales

Avery Weigh-Tronix ZQ375 Scale Helps Doughnut Shop Meet Quality & Hygiene Standards

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Well, you had to know if any of our scale suppliers that we represent provided us a story about Krispy Kreme, we would be all over it.  Well, recently the ZQ375 Checkweigher from Avery Weigh-Tronix provided some great benefits to the Krispy Kreme company and helped the company to meet quality and hygiene standards. Below is a case study to further discuss the scale and its benefits. Krispy Kreme is relying on Avery Weigh-Tronix’s new ZQ375 checkweigher to help maintain its daily doughnut production for the North East of England.

Krispy Kreme’s well-known doughnut shops can be found in over 730 locations in 21 countries around the world. Its new Newcastle (UK) Hotlight store produces 16 different varieties of doughnuts for its own on site retail store, its other regional outlets and retailers such as Tesco. The company has just installed a 6 kg and a 45kg ZQ375 checkweigher at its Newcastle store to weigh its ingredients prior to baking. Empty containers are placed on the scales and then filled with the ingredients for the batter or the fillings.

Krispy Kreme prides itself on providing fresh doughnuts daily, so the equipment must be reliable, robust and easy to clean. Of particular importance is the scale’s IP69k rated enclosure, which allows the check weighing scales to be thoroughly cleaned without fear of water or particle ingress. It has a smooth, polished surface finish, curved corners and an easy to remove cover. The design minimizes the growth of micro-organisms on the scale and limits food trap areas where bacteria can thrive.

Says Ollie Kane, service manager for Krispy Kreme: “As a business it’s important that we get the ingredient mix correct to ensure quality. The scales are constantly used as we produce fresh doughnuts daily for all of our outlets. Over the course of a week we will produce 1.3 million doughnuts nationally. “The new scales are robust, easy to clean and are also easy to use. The indicator is on top of a column on the scale at a convenient height for the operators and its display is very clear so that they can easily check that the weight of the ingredient is correct. “Aesthetically the scale is also very attractive, which is important because we sometimes open up the production area so that the public can see what is happening.”

This is another example of how food processing businesses are relying on the Avery Weigh-Tronix ZQ375 digital scales for accurate weighing. Your business would more than likely benefit from one of these check weighing scales as well. Contact the sales team at Central Carolina Scale for an analysis of what item(s) would work best for your application.

Check Weigh Scale Works Well for Warehouse Club

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Of course nobody here is surprised to hear this but recently the warehouse club Costco used some Avery Weigh-Tronix ZQ375 checkweighers in the bakery. The results were impressive with great marks for wash down capability and weighing accuracy. Below is a case study provided by Avery Weigh-Tronix the maker of the ZQ375.

Costco, the national Cash & Carry Membership Warehouse Club that produces and stocks a wide range of food products, has upgraded its scales to Avery Weigh Tronix’s new ZQ375 Checkweigher to achieve more accurate weighing for its bakery and confectionary ingredients. Costco has installed six ZQ375-30kg units at each of its newest warehouses at Leicester, Southampton and Farnborough and one larger, floor standing 90kg capacity ZQ375 for bulk weighing in the Butchery Departments. The equipment must meet stringent hygiene standards and must also precisely weigh a wide range of ingredients, from custard to food dye, to ensure a high quality final product.

Says Wayne Parsons, Regional Bakery Manager for Costco: “At Costco we take a lot of pride in the fact that we freshly bake a lot of our products in the bakeries at our warehouses. To do this, it’s important that the scales we use are consistently accurate, convenient to use, and have an easy to read indicator. This allows our bakers to meet their daily quota of produce and deliver a high quality end product.”

“Another particularly useful feature of the ZQ375 Checkweigher is that it is capable of five gram divisions and a capacity of 30kg, whereas the old scales we used were only capable of divisions by ten grams. When we are dealing with ingredients such as food dye, this feature is particularly useful as it allows a much greater level of accuracy when dealing with smaller quantities.” The flat scale pan on the ZQ375 Checkweigher makes it easy to place different shaped products on the scales and still get an accurate weight. In the Costco warehouse bakeries where weighed ingredients come in a range of different shapes and sizes, this ensures production remains efficient. Parsons concludes, “As a business, our bottom line is affected by whether or not we can deliver the high quality food products that our customers expect. Investing in this type of equipment helps us to achieve that.”

Featuring food-grade, fully stainless steel construction, the ZQ375 Checkweigher is a highly efficient solution for the food industry and beyond. From complete visibility of weighing data and statistics to fast, effective, simple checkweighing, the ZQ375 Checkweigher can help you to maximize performance and profitability while meeting strict legislative requirements. The ZQ375 is available from Central Carolina Scale located in Sanford, NC.

“Fangtastic” Halloween Offer on ZQ375 Checkweigher

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This Halloween, Avery Weigh-Tronix and Central Carolina Scale are offering you a frighteningly good deal on the Avery Weigh-Tronix ZQ375 over/under checkweigher scale! Get $500 off the Manufacturers Suggested List Price when you trade in any old check weigher!

So, how do you get the $500 trade in discount? To get your hands on this spooktacular deal, place your order with us for selected ZQ375 checkweigher scales and send us the old trade-in checkweigher(s) when you make the purchase. The old trade in checkweigher scale must clearly show the make, model and serial number in order to qualify.

avery weigh-tronix scales

Which models are included in the promo?
•5lb 8” x 8” IP69K ZQ375 (AWT05-800016)
•50lb 12” x 14” IP69K ZQ375 (AWT05-800021)

This offer can be applied to multiple units, if a trade-in scale is supplied for each unit ordered. Offer applies to all orders placed between October 22 and November 26, 2014. All orders must be shipped by end Dec 2014 to be included in this promotion. The trade in must take place at the time of the original transaction. Rules and what items qualify as “trade in” are at the discretion(s) of Central Carolina Scale and Avery Weigh-Tronix. For details and product information, please call the sales department at Central Carolina Scale at (919) 776-7737

FC6300 Formula Control Scale Video Overview

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What would it be like to be in total control? Imagine saving at least 2.1% of your yearly ingredient costs. What would that be worth to you? Picture having an extra supervisor watching over your employees’ shoulders monitoring and controlling the formulation process. What effect would that have on your product consistency and production efficiency? Well actually the Doran FC6300 Formula Control System puts you in total control and can pay for itself in four months or less!

Field-Proven Ingredient Savings
In today’s competitive marketplace, reducing production costs is a sure path to greater profits. Doran’s Formula Control has been guiding production plants along that path with ingredient savings of at least 2.1%—even more. Combine lower ingredient costs with the elimination of the money wasted on bad batches, and you can understand why successful companies are investing in the FC6300 Formula Control System.

Take a look at the savings one company experienced with the FC6300. This plant realized that improving the performance of their formula scaling could lead to a significant impact on profitability. Additionally they were averaging one bad batch a week due to errors that were traced back to the scaling process. They turned to Doran Scales to reduce costs from wasted ingredients and bad batches—the solution was the FC6300 Formula Control System. Return on investment due to ingredient cost savings was achieved in just four months, and the net one-year effect on profit margin was $27,068.71. It’s no wonder that plant managers at this company’s other location suddenly became interested in the FC6300 Formula Control System.

Consistent Batches—Guaranteed!
Reduction of ingredient costs is easy to see, but the costs associated with bad batches are often overlooked. Like a dripping faucet, those bad batches can gradually drain your plant’s profits. Production downtime to clean production lines and discard the bad batch, along with cost of wasted ingredients, can add up. Our field studies show that bad batches cost a company $837 per incident. With guaranteed consistent batches, your plant will run more efficiently, adding to your profitably.

Because the system prompts the user through the formula, the correct ingredients are accurately scaled every time. Each ingredient of the formula is weighed within a tolerance that you define. The color-coded Accu-Track display on the bright LCD screen ensures that added ingredients are within those tolerances. Each step of the formula is clearly labeled with batch ID, batch name, the step number, ingredient name, target weight, and actual weight. Accurate scaling can be achieved with or without experienced production employees.

Ensures Employee Accountability
Formula Loader is a standard component of the FC6300 Formula Control system. This Windows™-compatible software is used to configure formulas as well as to provide production reports. Standard Formula Loader reports can be used to evaluate scale operator efficiency and ingredient usage. Using scale operator ID’s, the FC6300 tracks when a user logs in and out of the scale. Management can easily determine how long the scale operators are taking to prepare each formula and how accurately it was done. It’s like having the plant manager watching over your employees’ shoulders 24/7.

For more information on this exciting product from Doran, please fill out our request form on the website with your particular requirements and specifications.

Common Applications for Peak Hold Feature In Digital Scales

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In today’s entry we would like to discuss the peak hold function. It’s a popular topic since we are usually asked about this capability at least every week or so. In these examples we will focus primarily on the Doran Scale product line. The Excel Series 2200, 2200CW, 4300, 7000XL, 7400, and 8000XL scales from Doran represent a scale line that you can rely on to fill a wide variety of weighing applications. From a battery powered 2200CW checkweigh scale for a food manufacturer, to an 8000XL series scale with a wireless Ethernet option for a seafood company, the flexibility of the Excel Series scales can help you achieve accurate results time after time. The Peak Hold feature is another example of how the Excel Series from Doran provides value added weighing solutions.

Doran 2200CW stainless steel checkweigher

Customers Using Peak Hold 
Many industries use Peak Hold in their quality control process. Peak Hold is when weight or force is applied to determine the highest amount of force a product can withstand. Maintaining a consistent specification in production results in cost savings, increased safety, and minimizes exposure to product liability litigation. Peak Hold allows for maximum sensitivity and accurate weight or force readings too quick for the eye to see and because it is digitally held, a displayed peak value will not decay or drift. Continue reading →

Restaurant Owners: Portion Control Is Very Important To Keeping Your Ingredient Costs Under Control

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If you are in the restaurant business then you understand how much your ingredients like cheese really cost, since you purchase them from your suppliers on a regular basis. Think about this for a second… Let’s say you’re making your best selling pizza or your most popular sandwich. What if you could cut back on your most expensive ingredient by just a smidgen. Actually, a better way to say it would be — what if you could develop a consistent way to add your ingredients so that every large pizza had exactly eight ounces of cheese or six ounces of pepperoni. The results would hopefully lead to more profitability and a consistent product your patrons could enjoy each and every visit.

This outstanding must read article that is referenced below goes into great detail about portion control and why it’s so important to a company’s bottom line.

“You can have the best pizza in the world. But you can lose your shirt if you’re not careful,” he said. “If you ain’t weighing it, you are winging it.” While many operators habitually weigh dough balls, nothing provides a pizza operator with more margin/cost control than weighing their cheese portions.

…. it’s important to keep cheat sheets for employees to remind them how much cheese to use, and even have the cheese pre-weighed in cups for them. This allows an operator to ensure consistency and to know the cost of every single pizza. The difference, for example, of 7 ounces and 10 ounces of cheese can be 60 cents per pizza. He also suggested adding a weighing scale that is easy for employees to use. Training and incentivizing is important for employees, who may free throw either through habit or to save time.

…. At the end of those 30 days, the concept saved about 200 pounds of cheese totaling $1,200, which was then split between the four employees as a bonus.

I like how the author wrote this article since it’s always great to see real world examples. As you can see from reading the entire article, your business can really benefit by adding some type of weighing functionality into your kitchen. Not only does this help control costs but it should also help restuarants increase their consistency. How many times have you gone to a restaurant and had one pizza with too much cheese or too little sauce, then you go back a couple weeks later and it’s the opposite problem. Customers love a consistent sandwhich or entrée (just ask my in-laws).

If you need some guidance on choosing the correct scale for your restaurant or prep kitchen please contact our sales department at 919 776-7737 or visit our site centralcarolinascale.com which has many scales posted for you to view. We also have a Youtube channel that shows a few of our scales in video format.

Fitness Equipment Company Gives Doran Scales a Workout

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Recently, a fitness equipment manufacturer was weighing a kit of parts and their current weighing system was still allowing an unacceptable quantity of quality control problems. The ideal product for the fitness company was a Doran 2200cw scale. Below is a summary of what was installed at their facility.

A system was proposed that would automate and simplify the process and retain the accumulated weight through the process of weighing several components of a parts kit. By connecting three Doran 2200CW over under accept check weigh scales together and using foot switches to activate certain push buttons, Doran was able to construct a system that allowed the employees to accurately weigh the kit of parts even though the weighing process took place across three workstations – all without pushing buttons on the scale front panel.

2200CW check weigh scaleThree 2200CW check weigh scales were set up using RS-232 cables so that scale number one sent weight data to scale two, and scale two sent weight data to scale three. The first 2200CW check weigher was set up for an over value of 1.2 lb and an under value of 0.7 lb. The employee weighs the items at the first scale and then presses the PRINT foot switch on the first scale. That weight is sent to the second 2200CW and would be automatically programmed as the tare value in the second scale.

The second 2200CW scale is set up with a target weight of 2.2 lb. A component is added to the kit of parts and would be weighed on the second scale and the GROSS/NET foot switch would be pressed to change it to gross mode. The PRINT foot switch is pressed and the total weight (including the tare value sent from scale one) is transmitted to scale three.

On the third and final 2200CW scale, another part is added to the kit. The GROSS/NET foot switch is pressed, to put the scale into gross mode. The weight of all the parts is shown on the display of scale three.

This is just one example of what is possible with Doran scales and the huge choice of available options. If you have a unique weighing application, contact us at Central Carolina Scale and we can get a Doran scale system quoted for you that will save you money and increase your efficiency.

Legal For Trade Price Computing Scales State Testing Info You Can Use

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legal for trade price computing scaleEvery year dozens and dozens of our customers either purchase new retail scales or they have their current legal for trade scale calibrated or certified. These are typically scales they can use at places like the farmers market to sell their fruits and vegetables by the pound. Basically any device used where items are bought or sold by weight is typically required by most state’s laws to be inspected and certified. This would include a counter top scale at a farmer’s market (or mechanical hanging scale) that is used to weigh produce that customers want to buy. Of course, inspecting a retail scale is an advantage to both the farmer and the customer.

I’ve mentioned this in the past but if you are buying or selling your items based on weight, you want to make sure that you purchase a scale that has NTEP approval. The certificate of conformance or CoC# should be on the side of the scale. The article below is also a good resource.

Keep in mind that no device is perfect and must be adjusted periodically. It is also recommended that you do not buy cheap quality scales that will likely not last. There are regional inspectors located across the state that will coordinate with the marketer to complete the certification. The inspectors have a set of standard weights calibrated annually for correctness. They will use these weights to test the marketer’s scales. Once you scale has been inspected you need to recertify every two years.  If the scale is out of tolerance (deemed inaccurate) a scale repair service must fix the scale or a new unit must be purchased. Click here to read entire article. Continue reading →

Mushroom Grower Increases Production Output By 5000 lbs a Day

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A large Mushroom grower needed a way to ensure that the tills of mushrooms were being filled to the proper weight and a means to verify the productivity of each employee. Since whole mushrooms vary in weight and size, the tills of mushrooms were filled by hand. They knew the weight of the bulk mushrooms and the total weight of all the mushrooms packaged that day and they realized that almost 4% of product was lost or unaccounted for during the packaging process. This needed to be improved to keep a healthy profit margin for this company.

THE SOLUTION involved the Doran 2200CW Checkweigh Scale with Ethernet and Excelerator Data Collection.

10 Doran 2200CW Checkweigh scales with wired Ethernet were installed in each production line (Seven total lines). They were connected to a PC with Dorans CW Setup program which contained a library of all products with over and under tolerances. The scales require the operator to log in with an employee ID; this allows all of their packaging for the shift to be recorded. The line leader enters the product to be run in the CW Setup program which then uploads this information and over under tolerances to the 2200CW scales on that line. After the 2200CW scales are setup with the product information and tolerances the Doran Excelerator program starts to collect the data on each weighment from each scale and each packer.

There Is Even A Difference In The Keypad

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Rice Lake utilizes a piezo-type keypad in the CW-90X Checkweigher. These keypads are considerably thicker than traditional overlays and use piezoelectric principles, where pressure creates a mechanical charge within a crystalline layer of the product. You do not notice a tactile sensation of a dome being pushed as with many other keypads. But in the case of the CW-90X, there are certain good things about this.The CW-90X check weighing scale was designed to be used in challenging environments-factory floors, damp food processing type places, etc. In our advertising you might have noticed an individual using a chef’s knife to press a button on the CW-90X. If someone attempted that with a classic keypad, and they do, it will ultimately pierce the dome structure of the button, enabling debris into the keypad and creating failure in a very short period of time.A piezo keypad delivers superior durability. It’s chemical and weather resistant, there isn’t any moving pieces to collapse or break down, and that smooth surface area is very simple to clean. The piezo keypad is not entirely indestructible, however, if someone chooses to utilize their knife instead of their index finger, functionality won’t be jeopardized.