It has installed new GIC production lines
In just three months, Supreme Petfoods has doubled its production throughput after choosing to work with GIC.
A leading manufacturer of small pet food and treats, Supreme Petfoods was the first to launch a nutritionally balanced, branded pet food for rabbits. Its Science Selective and Tiny Friends Farm brands are amongst the best-known small pet brands in the world, available in the UK and internationally, with a significant presence in markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the United States. Annually, the company produces millions of packs of food and treats from its factories in Suffolk, and has recently launched a range extension of tasty treats for dogs under the Tiny Friends Farm brand.
In late 2024, Supreme decided to modernise its bakery products packing line and asked GIC to undertake a turnkey project to design and install two new production lines, continuing to ensure that the meat for dog treats remains segregated from the plant-based facility for small pets.
GIC took just two weeks to install the lines, which comprised overhead gantries, infeed conveyors, bulk hoppers, the Yamato weighers specified by Supreme, the GIC 2100 VFFS machines, and outfeed conveyors.
Supreme saw the benefits of the increased performance immediately:
"Even during the installation phase, production continued without interruption," says Nick Thomas, Technical Manager at Supreme Petfoods. "While there was a backlog due to the 24-hour production schedule, we were able to clear it within three days once the first line was up and running. The second line followed shortly after, and together, the lines doubled our throughput, allowing us to reach over 100 packs per minute."
"Since we've worked with GIC before, our team was already comfortable with the equipment. There was no need for extensive training - everyone just got straight to work due to their familiarity with the equipment."
The two companies first worked together in 2001 when GIC's salesperson at the time, Andy Beal, supplied a VFB1. That 24-year-old machine was decommissioned as part of the latest project and replaced by a GIC2100, and Mr Beal is now GIC's managing director
To find out more about Supreme Petfoods, visit https://supremepetfoods.com/. To learn more about GIC and its range of Vertical Form Fill and Seal packing machines, visit www.gic.uk, call +44 (0) 1427 611885, or email [email protected].