Anacortes, WABrownfield (equipment replacement in an operating plant)
DJM Plate Former / VMAG Portion Loader
$770K/year of raw-material giveaway removed on a $600K project
01 — Results
$770K/yr
Raw-material giveaway removed
$600K
Project cost
+17%
Throughput increase
| Metric | Before | After | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw-material giveaway | Baseline | −$770K/yr | $770K/yr |
| Throughput | Baseline line rate | +17% | No added labor |
| Die cavities | Legacy die set | Expanded die set | +1 cavity |
| Project cost | — | $600K installed | <1 yr payback |
02 — Challenge
Legacy formers were fed more product than they could form, so squeeze loss and drop-weight variation were structural.
Overfilling to protect label weight meant paying for giveaway on every patty, and throughput was capped by the die set.
03 — My role
Project manager
Timeline: Trials through startup
04 — Scope
- Portion loader meters the exact product volume the former needs per stroke, with residual squeeze returned rather than lost
- Drop-weight target tightened and held against the after-fryer finished weight, proven in production trials
- Die set expanded to lift throughput without added labor
- $770K/yr raw-material giveaway reduction against a $600K installed cost
05 — Execution
- Replaced the legacy formers with a plate former fed by a portion loader so the machine forms only what it is fed
- Residual squeeze returned to the feed rather than lost
- Drop weight tightened and held against the after-fryer finished weight, proven in production trials
- Die set expanded to lift throughput with no added labor
06 — Systems & technology
- Plate former
- Portion loader
- Weight control
- Yield engineering
07 — Artifacts & evidence
- Production trial data on drop weight and after-fryer weight
- Throughput verified at sustained line speed post-startup
08 — Key takeaways
Metering upstream beat tuning the former. The weight problem was a feed problem.