Inox Meccanica’s meat processing machinery is prominent in the food industry. Sitting on almost 50 years’ experience, the company strives to develop the very best technological food solutions. Chief of Sales Pietro Donegá and Marketing Manager Mele Leonardo divulged the latest news from its headquarters in Italy. Report by Imogen Ward.
From cold cuts to succulent sausages, Inox Meccanica is a master of meat. Each one of its machines is carefully designed and manufactured to meet the specific requirements of the customer.
“Inox Meccanica is different from other competitors in the market,” Chief of Sales Pietro Donegá explained. “We can customise the machines according to our clients’ needs, and we are among the few companies that actively do this. We specialise in whole muscle meat processing machinery and can tailor-make it to fit any space restrictions.”
Emerging onto the market in 1983, Inox took the industry by storm – developing the first automatic pressing, stuffing
and clipping machine. This machine is still renowned industry-wide, with its current iteration, PIC 99 B, a popular choice amongst many.
Curing industry-wide dilemmas
Since it was first introduced in 1987, Inox’s stuffing machine has been adapted to meet the evolving requirements of the market.
“Initially, we started with a semi-automatic process that required two operators: one to feed the meat into the stuffing machine , and another that stood at the end of the machine to clip the emerging products by hand,” Mr Donegá explained. “We wanted to develop a machine that would be capable of completing all these
jobs. “As part of this development we were also able to design a special stretching system that is very different to the ones produced by our competitors. As a result, we believe we have developed the very best automatic solution on the market.”
Adapting to the needs of its customers, I nox made several major adjustments to its stuffing machines. With the understanding that traditionally, these products are wrapped in both casing and netting, the company recognised how time
PIC 99 BCE Special Focus
Over the past five years, in response to customer feedback, Inox Meccancia has successfully optimised its PIC 99 BCE automatic stuffing machine with:
• Automatic tubes rotation system
• Automatic loading belt
• Adjustable electric pusher
consuming this process can be. To improve its customers’ manufacturing experience , Inox redesigned its machine to make simultaneous and automatic casing and netting possible.
The company is very flexible when it comes to customer requests: fully willing to adapt its offering, Inox has sourced several solutions for clients’ problems. The company is even bringing out at least four new machines over the coming year, in response to clients’ requests.
Any product adaptions are developed in the company’s Pilot Plant; this unique testing centre is home to an incredible team of R&D experts. The company also opens its doors to customers, providing them the opportunity to test the evolving products and request any additional adaptations.
“We can test every one of our machines in the Pilot Plant,” Marketing Manager Mele Leonardo explained. “Our focus is to realise the full potential of our products, using both our own technology and the
technology of our partners, together with our technical development team to create the perfect end solution.”
The company’s renowned special washing systems were developed 35 years ago to solve a customer’s need for cleaning between production. These machines were designed with the environment in mind and operate with high standards of sanitisation, as well as energy and water efficiency.
Cutting into Industry 4.0
Alongside its machinery, Inox also invests in software that ensures a smooth operation for every customer. Keen to enter Industry 4.0, the company has been utilising Acty – an app that incorporates augmented reality to provide remote technical assistance – for the past four years.
“We supply all our machines with remote access capabilities,” said Mr Mele. “This enables us to check on our machinery
direct from the office; 90 per cent of the issues that occur can be solved remotely.
“The app also includes a translator function to remove any potential language barriers. After-sales support is incredibly important to us, and our technicians are always on stand-by if a problem cannot be fixed remotely. Acty is an incredibly useful tool that was paramount during the Pandemic and is still essential to the service we provide today.”
Acty’s augmented reality features enable Inox to guide its technicians and partners in real-time. The app works in harmony with smart glasses, which allow the operator to see the machine through the eyes of the technician. The implementation of this app helps to reduce unnecessary travelling, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint and a quick technical turnaround.
Seasoning new partnerships
Relationships are an advantageous element of Inox’s corporate philosophy. In order to maintain a strong market
position, the company understands the importance of all its suppliers and partners. With a focus on expanding its presence in the US market, Inox has entered into a fresh new partnership revolving around the US-based company Sarca Food Equipment Technologies.
“This is a huge development for us.” Mr Donegá explained. “Sarca is a reseller of mechanical equipment: we now own half of this company, alongside a US partner. We see the US market as the biggest opportunity for the expansion of Inox. We already have Italian customers located in the US, so we have amassed a positive reputation, and we feel it is the right time to target the US and Canadian producers within this market.”
The company has chosen to market to the US its stuffing, tumblers, tying and washing lines – the last of which it highlights as incredibly versatile, providing food-safe and exceptional cleaning standards for a range of equipment within the food sector.
Another crucial partnership currently being formed by Inox, will see it working with a large UK-based net and twine company. This new relationship will expand Inox’s material offering and provide it with another market advantage. Going forward, the company is also looking to incorporate more of the value chain into its production capabilities. Not only is Inox developing new machinery, but it is also focused on creating its own materials too.
“We want to be able to provide a more comprehensive service to our customers,” Mr Donegá said. “Where we don’t just supply them with a machine but with a process. That is why we are currently developing new casings and clips. We are already working with exciting materials including our edible films, which reduce wastage and have been a hit so far, and we are developing more materials in line with the aim of becoming more sustainable.”
On the topic of sustainability, having previously adapted its machines to overcome the waste dilemma, Inox is also working hard to increase the production capabilities of its machinery. By processing longer, more standardised bars of meat, the company anticipates a further reduction in waste.
Despite being extremely busy with these exciting developments, Inox wanted to take the time to highlight the hard work of its employees. Crucial elements of its success, Inox would not be where it is today without the unwavering commitment of the Inox team.
“The human factor in our production is very important: its not enough to develop a good design – having those people to really fine-tune the equipment and bring a customer’s expectations to life is essential,” Mr Donegá concluded. “They have to be able to solve problems , and here at Inox Meccanica, that is what we do best.”
