Marking system helps processor track egg freshness.
With more than 4,320,000 eggs processed each week, Hidden Villa not only needs to mark its product quickly but also accurately since the dates affixed to each pallet are vital for traceability and freshness. Although the system they selected was faster than manually applying stickers, it didn't offer the efficiency Hidden Villa needed. "At the end of each day, we incurred a lot of downtime because we had to warm up the printer," says Ron Stevens, Hidden Villa Ranch's San Jacinto, CA, plant maintenance manager. To improve efficiency, Stevens and Ron Petersen, Hidden Villa's branch manager, evaluated other marking systems, eventually choosing Matthews International's Jet-a-Mark S.C.I. F.I. 3200 system. "We selected the system because it takes less than half the time as the previous equipment to start up, shut down, clean and maintain," says Petersen.