Case Study - Eat Your Greens

www.jehartleyfrozenveg.co.uk

For over 20 years, J E Hartley has supplied frozen vegetables to the manufacturing and retail sectors, incorporating many of the UK's largest supermarkets.

Currently processing peas, cut, sliced and whole beans, cauliflower, broccoli, all root crops, sliced onions and celery, J E Hartley is a totally independent company, which means having complete control of all processes, from the growing through to final distribution. At any time, a pack of product can be traced through its entire lifecycle, back to the field of origin.

A successful UK business, J E Hartley process a wide range of traditional and exotic vegetables and as a market-led company they re-invest in new plant and machinery each year. Cox & Plant Products are delighted to have supplied J E Hartley with many types of vibrating conveying lines, including Automated Vegetable Mixing Lines for over 10 years. The Cox & Plant machines are designed, engineered and constructed in the UK, in partnership with J E Hartley.

John Campbell (J E Hartley), commented: 'Cox & Plant Products have manufactured many machines for us over the last 10 years. Plant requirements within the food sector are particularly stringent demanding the highest standards and technical know-how. Cox & Plant have consistently delivered reliable and first class machine lines. We are always happy to recommend Cox & Plant.'

Based near York, the J E Hartley process factory was recently refurbished to incorporate a fully computerised mixing line, supplied by Cox & Plant, enabling them to meet the growing demand for different vegetable mixes. J E Hartley has the capacity to pack 30,000 tonnes of frozen vegetables each year as well as being able to store 7500 pallets of frozen product in controlled conditions.
Peas being fed into pocket elevator

	1. Peas being fed into pocket elevator after having been vigorously checked by the raw material colour sorter. Factory effluent is reduced to clean water
	2. Factory effluent is reduced to clean water by the sequential batch reactor that can be run over the internet from Canada.
	3. Cold store number 4 added last year increases J E Hartley storage capacity by 6,500 automated pallet spaces. Full Machine layout to sort Peas
click to enlarge	4. Peas are blanched, cooled colour sorted, divided up into 2 freezers and frozen before being colour sorted again and packed into 1 tonne Octabins.
	5. Quality control staff check every pallet of product to ensure that they meet your technical specifications. Mixing operation can mix varieties of vegetables
	6. Highly balanced mixing operation can mix varieties of vegetables to suit your requirements. Final check ensure even greater quality control
	7. Final check ensure even greater quality control.
	8. Automated pack / weigh / label system has increased our packing capaity.
	9. Robot stacker takes us into 21st century.