Custom Weighing Platforms Bring Precision to Chocolate Refining at Mood Foods
As part of a wider improvement project focused on automation and improved reporting, Mood Foods needed a better way to weigh ingredients during its chocolate refining process. MWS supplied four platform scales, including custom-made platforms designed to accommodate tanks that had been built for pallet truck transportation.
The result is a more automated and controlled weighing process, with reliable weight data giving the production team better visibility of ingredient quantities and process performance.
Customer Profile
Mood Foods is the Cambridge-based company behind Ombar, an organic, vegan chocolate brand stocked in major UK supermarkets. The company approached MWS as part of a wider improvement project for its chocolate refining process. The main aims were to automate ingredient dosing and improve visibility of production quantities and process performance. Before the project, ingredient weighing was carried out manually. Operators would place a bucket on a scale underneath the outlet valve of a process tank and weigh the ingredients as they were discharged. Mood Foods wanted a more direct and controlled approach. By weighing the tanks themselves, the new system could monitor their contents and provide weight data directly to the refining process.
The Challenge
Weighing tanks accurately is one thing. Weighing tanks that were never designed with a scale in mind is another matter entirely.
Mood Foods had several process tanks that needed to be weighed, but some had been designed specifically for pallet truck transportation. This meant a standard weighing platform would not have been suitable.
The solution needed to work around the existing tank design while maintaining the accuracy required for ingredient dosing. It also needed to provide reliable weight data that could support the wider automation and monitoring requirements of the refining process.
The Solution
MWS worked from the tank dimensions and process requirements supplied by Mood Foods to design a system of four platform scales, combining standard and custom configurations.
This included:
- Custom-made weighing platforms engineered specifically to accommodate the pallet truck bases on certain tanks, while maintaining accurate weighing.
- Standard weighing platforms for the remaining tanks.
- Display units, with some supplied pre-configured and ready to run, while others could be programmed on site using the technical documentation and support provided by MWS.
- Weight data for the wider process, allowing the new weighing system to support automated ingredient dosing and improved production monitoring.
There were several reasons Mood Foods chose MWS for the project. Price was an important factor, with the bespoke solution remaining competitive with other options.
The fact that the equipment is manufactured in the UK also gave the client confidence in the long-term investment. MWS platform scale frames come with a lifetime warranty on their structural integrity, providing additional reassurance around durability.
Throughout the project, Mood Foods also had a responsive and knowledgeable point of contact at MWS, helping to keep the process straightforward from specification through to installation.
Outcome
The installation went smoothly, and the system worked as intended from day one. Several weeks after installation, all four scales remained in operation without any issues.
For Mood Foods, the biggest change has been moving away from manual ingredient weighing. The new system allows tank contents to be monitored directly, supporting automated ingredient dosing and making the refining process more accurate, consistent and efficient.
The production team also has better visibility of quantities and process performance, giving them greater control over what is happening during production.
RESULTS
Conclusion
Mood Foods needed a weighing solution that could work with the practical requirements of its existing process tanks. Some were designed for pallet truck transportation, so a standard platform would not have been suitable.
MWS designed four platform scales around those requirements, combining custom-made platforms for the specialist tanks with standard platforms for the others. The equipment was manufactured in the UK and supplied within the agreed timeframe.
Since installation, the weighing system has operated reliably and without disruption. Accurate weight data now supports automated ingredient dosing and gives the production team a clearer view of production quantities and process performance.
For a process that had previously relied on manually weighing ingredients in a bucket, it represents a significant step towards a more controlled and efficient way of working.
TESTIMONIAL
