Tata Global Beverages has installed an automated packaging machine at its Tetley manufacturing facility in Eaglescliffe, UK, with an investment of a six-figure amount.
Dewsbury-based machine manufacturer Sewtec stated that its bespoke machine at the facility will help to produce a new Tetley fruit tea.
Created as per Tata Global Beverages’ requirements and to be used exclusively by the beverage firm, the new automated machine can pack 2,000 tea bags per minute.
This facility is the firm’s largest factory across its global operations and produces 260 million tea bags every week. Besides loading 120 cartons per minute, the machine fill can them with a flow-wrapped bag consisting of 20 tea bags.
The equipment is also capable of carrying out quality control and collating several cartons into shelf-ready trays. Due to its flexible design, the machine can be quickly and easily altered to accommodate other carton and product sizes.
Tata Global Beverages engineering manufacturing manager John Bishop said: “Automation is vital to our manufacturing process, now and in the future. We appointed Sewtec because of its outstanding reputation in delivering bespoke automated solutions for the beverage industry. Our machine has already enabled us to bring a new product to market and will allow us to work faster and more effectively from our state-of-the-art facility.”
Sewtec managing director Mark Cook said: “Tata Global Beverages is a world-leader in its sector and very mature in its use of automation.
“Establishing an efficient production process is crucial for any food and drink business, and this really is best achieved through a bespoke and automated approach. It’s very rewarding to have produced a highly effective solution, which meets the company’s requirements and will underpin its ongoing success.”
India-based Tata Global Beverages is a leading tea producer in the world, with an annual revenue of $873m. It has over 3,000 employees across 40 countries and provides 330 million servings of beverages every day across the world.