RMGROUP’S BP-600 AUTOMATIC BAG PLACER SYSTEM HELPS BOOST EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
JOINT COCERAL, FEDIOL, AND FEFAC REACTION TO THE PROVISIONAL DEAL BETWEEN
EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL ON THE EU REGULATION FOR DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY
CHAINS The European Parliament and the Council have concluded trilogue negotiations on the EU Deforestation Regulation. COCERAL, FEDIOL, and FEFAC, acknowledge the efforts to swiftly strike a deal and set an ambitious EU framework that will prevent commodities associated with deforestation to be marketed in the EU. An EU regulation tackling deforestation is a necessary initiative which should give a strong signal to players and governments around the world.
COCERAL, FEDIOL, and FEFAC,
welcome aspects of the deal on the EU regulation that will prove positive for the implementation through the palm oil and soy supply chains, such as guidelines, the timelines for implementation of 18 months, and lower percentage of checks for low-risk countries. COCERAL, FEDIOL, and FEFAC also consider positively that the agreement refrains from broadening the scope to maize and to other ecosystems from the outset, without further assessment of the implications. On the other hand, COCERAL, FEDIOL,
and FEFAC regret that the requirement for traceability and implied chain of custody, as defined, will have a number of unintended consequences. These consequences will be felt deeply, particularly as this may lead to the exclusion of smallholders, the most vulnerable players in these supply chains, given the tight implementation deadline, or to disinvestment from high-risk areas. Failure to set in place similarly ambitious accompanying measures for government-to- government engagement and partnerships, with incentives and support, will not help overcome the many legal, organisational or logistical impediments arising, as operators will be looking at implementing the EU regulation throughout these complex supply chains.
The deal between European Parliament
and Council on the deforestation regulation needs to be examined in further detail and its implications will require further assessment. COCERAL, FEDIOL, and FEFAC remain fully committed to support solutions for the implementation of the Regulation to make it work in practice and at the same time to tackle global deforestation.
AT W.E. JAMESON RMGroup has supplied one of their new automatic bag placer systems, the BP- 600, to North Yorkshire-based animal feed specialist, W.E. Jameson & Son. The new equipment includes an automatic bag stitching unit, label application and an ABB robot palletiser. Jameson supplies animal feed to
farmers throughout Yorkshire and the North of England. They offer compounds and blends for dairy, beef and sheep farmers, supplying a range of feeds including soya, rapeseed meal, brewers grains, molasses and fodder beet. Looking to improve staffing levels at their mill and having seen a BP- 600 in operation, the manufacturer placed an order with RMGroup for the BP-600 and ABB palletising robot. Delivering an efficient and cost-
effective method of automatically placing sacks/bags onto the bagging unit, the BP- 600 replaces existing manual operations, thereby maximising bag-filling production efficiencies. Previous bag presentation issues are eradicated with a consistent flow of bags to the filling head. The system provides impressive speeds of up to 10 bags per minute and its small footprint means that the configured layout enabled installation in the space provided, without impairing the customer’s ability to fulfil production demands. Designed to accept sacks up to 950mm in length, the bag placer comprises a suction cup vacuum system to pick up bags before being transported on a chain belt, and then opened to allow paddle arms to present to the filling head. In this configuration, the system is designed to fill up to 25 kg bags of animal feed in woven polypropylene or paper bags that need to be stitched, however, it can also accept plastic pre-made bags. “This was a new piece to replace our old
bagging plant, enabling us to release staff to do other jobs in the mill,” said Jameson’s Bob Prisk. “We also have plans to add the grass seed plant to the line and fully make use of the robot palletiser to stack the bags once filled. We’ll definitely look to use RMGroup again for future investments.” RMGroup’s sales director, Ed Pugh,
added: “The BP-600 is an efficient, stand- alone unit, that can be integrated with an existing bag-filler, or combined with a palletiser as part of a full system. Essentially it’s a starter system for those looking to automate their manual bag-placing process, which in turn helps increase staff productivity, as is the case with W.E. Jameson.”
PAGE 50 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 FEED COMPOUNDER
AIC
AGRIBUSINESS
CONFERENCE: CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM THAT AGRI-FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN CAN MANAGE
DISRUPTIVE SHOCKS At a packed AIC Agribusiness conference 68% of delegates agreed or mildly agreed that the agri-supply sector was in a strong position to manage the key shocks and disruptions in the supply chain in the coming years. Given the significant economic and
practical shocks that have taken place since the pandemic this outcome was testament to the resilience of businesses across the supply chain. But there was no doubt that the
feeling amongst delegates is that there is room for significant improvement both in practical policy and political stability. Farming Minister Mark Spencer, in one of his first addresses to the sector, reiterated Defra’s commitment to rolling out ELMS, emphasising the opportunity that the government believes this transition represented but accepting that change always presents challenge for businesses. AIC Chief Executive Robert Sheasby
was quick to question the government’s engagement with business. He suggested the need for an economy wide business task force that would look at the impact on business of proposed legislation and new trade deals and ensure joined up thinking between government departments “We need DIT to get behind agriculture when it comes to competitiveness and to make sure that when entering into trade agreements that UK agriculture and what it can provide is not overlooked. We should expect our negotiators led by their political leaders to find the opportunities that will assist growth in competitiveness”. Tom Bradshaw, NFU Deputy President
was pleased that the Minister recognised the need for a food strategy, but needed to see a plan of how to bring this to life. Both AIC and the NFU called for clarity on carbon which is going to play such a significant role for productivity, competitiveness and the environment – never mind reputation. Mr Sheasby announced that AIC have been working on a self-assessment criteria whereby businesses will be able to assess how they are progressing towards the statutory target of net zero. However both organisations raised the
challenge to the Minister of consistency of metrics for carbon measurement both in the UK and on a global scale. Mr Bradshaw called upon the development of a carbon border mechanism, with an agreed suite of calculators and net zero embedded in ELMS.
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