Over the past 25 years Marco has helped more than 350 international clients across a broad spectrum of industries achieve outstanding performance. Karsten Farms, Kenya Horticultural Exporters, Barfoots, Vegpro, Griffin & Brand, Pandol Brothers and Hochfeld, are just some of the leading international fresh produce brands who continue to invest with Marco.
Hilborne explains that he started the company just at the time when weighing machines were going through a major technology change from mechanical to electronic devices. "The very early electronic weighing machines only had a five digit display which showed the weight and nothing else. I saw the opportunity to add all-important functionality and value to the equipment, for example, the capability to provide date codes and labelling."
Hilborne explains that from the outset Marco supplied more than just simply weighing machines. “We recognised that companies wanted complete solutions that improved productivity. We have unrivalled in-house expertise and, over the years, through our team of experts we have seen significant growth, specialising in niche areas such as fresh produce pack-house systems.
"Historically pack-houses have been run by local farmers, but today many are multi-million pound businesses exporting produce all over the world. To remain competitive, these operations need to be very efficient. At Marco we understand the challenges faced by growers and packers. Our modular solutions bring all-important control and visibility to the modern pack-house, significantly reducing giveaway/overpack, eliminating unnecessary waste and increasing productivity."
Hilborne recently visited South Africa, to assist in the installation of the latest pack-house system for Karsten farms at their new pack-house at Orange River. During the visit he carried out a two day training program with pack-house staff.
"Our experience shows that operator capabilities vary widely and this has a major impact on productivity, especially in large pack-houses. The average packing speed may be eight to nine packs per minute, but some people can pack 11-13 packs, whilst others can only do two. People who can perform better need to be separated from those who underperform. This may sound harsh, but companies need to select the best, most efficient workers. This is especially important now in South Africa with increases in labour costs so pack-houses need to be as efficient as possible. We also provide big internal screens to show the efficiency of each line and we find this creates productive internal competition.” said Hilborne.
He reckons that companies using the Marco systems could save up to 30% on labour costs compared to those with no controls or monitoring. Depending on throughput volumes, according to Hilborne a company will start to see a return on the investment early in the second season following installation
For more information:
Mandy Hart
Marco Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0) 1732 782380
Email: mandy.hart@marco.co.uk
www.marco.co.uk