The Leeds, UK company chose the sandwich-specific depositor to increase production and accuracy, while reducing labor and waste.
The Sandwich King is a company with a passion for making sandwiches that reign supreme. For over 30 years, The Sandwich King has been supplying restaurant chains, tourist attractions, schools, colleges, catering companies and retail outlets with pre-made sandwiches.
Based in Leeds, The Sandwich King works with multiple sectors across the UK, including education, healthcare, retail, leisure, and various food distribution partners.
The Challenge
Some of The Sandwich King’s sandwiches require ingredients such as egg salad to be scooped by workers on the production line. The company was struggling to find enough manual labor to fulfill its production requirements.
To address the challenge of finding enough workers, as well as to improve production speed and consistency, the company had considered automation in the past. They had tried a depositing machine from another supplier that was much too large for their production area.
The Solution
As The Sandwich King sought a solution to help automate their scooping process, they contacted Grote Company, which suggested its Volumetric Depositor designed specifically for the sandwich industry.
The compact depositor ensures accurate, consistent deposits of condiments and some wet salads resulting in higher-quality sandwich products. It features a sanitary design with tool-free disassembly, allowing for easy, quick and thorough washdown.
To start, Grote Company sent a demonstration unit to the company, along with support from its application specialists, to set up an initial production trial.
The Results
Once Sandwich King saw the demonstration unit in action, they purchased a depositor. It was delivered the next day, accompanied by installation support.
“We found the Grote model much more maneuverable and simpler to use than what we’d tried in the past,” said Jason Hirst, Operations and Production Manager, The Sandwich King. “We were sold after about five minutes of running the machine during the trial. We purchased the week after.”
The Sandwich King was able to significantly reduce the manual labor needed. With the depositor running about four hours per day, three to four days per week, they’ve eliminated the need for one or two workers depending on the product they’re assembling.
In addition, the increased accuracy of the machine allows the company to better control the weight and consistency of its sandwiches. This also results in less waste, as they’re more accurately able to plan the amount of product needed.
The Future
Based on the success of this collaboration, The Sandwich King hopes to work with Grote Company again in the future.
“It was so easy and hassle-free to work with Grote Company throughout the process,” said Hirst. “We had excellent service and support over the phone whenever we had a question.”
Future collaborations between The Sandwich King and Grote Company may include additional depositing equipment, as well as machinery to handle offline slicing, sandwich cutting, and collating/buttering.
Read the full case study here.
Learn more about Grote’s Volumetric Depositor and Particulate Depositor for sandwich production.