Jam producer Claire’s Handmade, rapidly expanding due to the growing demands for its award winning products, has chosen Riggs Autopack Ltd to help increase its productivity through the introduction of automation.

Riggs Autopack supplied the Cumbria based company with a Model 1000 semi-automatic depositing machine, following an extremely successful trial of the equipment at the customer’s own premises.

Claire’s Handmade is using the new depositing machine to fill 28g breakfast pots with jam, which had been very time consuming due to the large pieces of fruit involved. The company is particularly impressed with the rapid changeover time, ability to handle the large fruit particulates, trouble-free cleaning and the ease of use of the Riggs Autopack machine.

Although the jam producing company still uses artisan methods of cooking, automation has had an extremely positive impact on output which has increased significantly to several thousand a week. Not only has the equipment increased productivity but its also had a huge impact on the amount of product wastage, which has been considerably reduced through the machine’s accuracy and impressive ability to get the exact product weights right every time.

Claire’s Handmade owner Mrs Claire Kent has been thrilled with the new equipment which she believes will give the business extra flexibility and scope for diversity to expand its range and enter new markets.

Mrs Kent commented: "We discussed our specific needs with Riggs in detail and they came and demonstrated how the equipment would work for us using our own product. We were thoroughly impressed with the knowledgeable Riggs engineers and very pleased when the machine was up and running. It met all the requirements accurately with no faults. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending them to others."

Currently the Model 1000 depositor is being used as a stand alone machine but, as the company continues to expand there is the possibility of it being used as part of a production line in the future due to the machines versatility.

Riggs Autopack’s 1000 series of depositors are known and trusted by a widening group of customers throughout the UK and overseas. These range from cottage style industries employing just a handful of people through to large blue chip food production factories, employing hundreds. They are complemented by a full range of depositing nozzles and decorating heads, which give drip free cut-off and Riggs has both the experience and the expertise to ensure all its customers’ individual requirements are met.