New packaging line Vleems

Fast snacks from the microwave are popular, if we consider the growth of Vleems Convenience Snacks. A new packaging machine is in the making. It will allow larger quantities of the convenience products to be packaged in a food-safe manner. 

Anyone who sinks their teeth into a cheeseburger, hot dog or frikandel sandwich from the microwave has a good chance that it comes from Emmen. Every week thousands of snack rolls leave Vleems Convenience Snacks. According to director Michel Drenth, the snack supplier has at least one of its convenience products in almost every Dutch supermarket. Its success? That lies mainly in enjoyment, convenience and cheap. This appeals to a broad public. "We have also seen a great demand for our chicken products lately. For many people, they are a good alternative for pork snacks. We are also benefiting from the increased spending in supermarkets since the arrival of Corona. With a growth of no less than 30 percent," he says.

Room for growth

Vleems has been a well-known name in snacks for 40 years, and has been operating under Vleems Convenience Snacks B.V. for one and a half years. On the production floor in Emmen we find two production lines: cheeseburgers and chickenburgers, and hotdogs and frikandel buns. They are sold under the name Flemmings or under a private label in supermarkets in the Netherlands, but also in Belgium, Germany and Italy. 

For growth, room is obviously needed. More capacity must be realised to ensure the continuity of the company. A new thermoforming machine should reinforce the - partly outdated - machine park. And: pack 30 per cent more products in the same time. It is a necessary step to be ready for the future, according to Michel. "The new machine is suitable for using different types of film. We will be working with thinner film and will therefore also be more sustainable. Good packaging makes the product. Without it, our convenience snacks would not even exist. Thanks to the modified atmosphere packaging technique with gas, they stay chilled and can meet the prevailing food safety requirements. Packaging also shapes a product and is the first thing a consumer sees. We don't want to question that. And fortunately we don't have to.

From left to right: Eelco van Schaik and Bert Broos (Repak) and Michel Drenth (Vleems Convenience Snacks B.V.)

Faithful service

Vleems has been relying on Repak for years now. The supplier of packaging machines is located a short distance from Vleems, on the same industrial area. The company has been providing packaging solutions at home and abroad for over 35 years and is also responsible for Vleems' current machine park. One machine has been in loyal service for over 30 years, and another for over 10 years. They have proven themselves in the meantime, Michel thinks. "The new machine has been adapted to our situation as much as possible. In addition, Repak has been a link between us and external experts. For the future, we would like to automate certain parts of the production line that are still done by hand, such as unfolding the rolls."

Award

Advising and thinking along are tasks that Repak gladly takes on. Vleems' near neighbour prefers to act as a partner rather than simply as a supplier of machines, says customer relations director Bert Broos. "We have been doing this for Vleems for some time now. The new order feels like a crowning achievement and recognition of that long-standing relationship. We are there for questions. For example, we can respond to the arrival of a new roll in the range by replacing a tool in the packaging machine. It can be compared to a mould that adapts the packaging to the shape of the product," says Bert. "The fact that we are close together makes it very easy to switch quickly. As a result, a part does not take 24 hours to arrive, but a few minutes, because you can drop it off. The personal contact has created a good bond."

Trust

Vleems Convenience Snacks, for its part, is happy to open its door to the people at Repak. For the arrival of the new machine, of course. But also when the machine supplier wants to show other customers a running packaging machine, Michel says. "We are also happy to participate in the testing of innovations on our shop floor. There is trust and pleasant personal contact, which enables us to support each other. You help each other."

www.repak.nl
www.vleemsfood.com

Beeld: © Van Vliet Fotografie