Paul Daniel, General Manager at TNA Solutions
Moving into 2024, the food processing and packaging industry faces various significant challenges, primarily centred around evolving consumer and manufacturing trends. Paul Daniel, general manager at TNA Solutions, identified five key areas of concern.
The first is sustainability and ethics, how ethical, socially responsible, and eco-friendly a product is. Daniel explained that research suggested fewer than half of consumers globally were highly influenced by the sustainability and ethics megatrend, the reasons for this being three-fold, including a lack of information, accessibility difficulties, and conflicting priorities and beliefs.
“The politicisation of climate change and sustainability also serves as a deterrent to embracing more sustainable lifestyles,” said Daniel.
This conflicting information requires manufacturers to navigate a tricky landscape of balancing consumers' opinions and attitudes towards sustainability when promoting products.
Another key consumer-based issue is accessibility and affordability. Research has shown that convenience options have been overtaken by price and the value-driven and price-sensitive consumer due to the pandemic and elevated levels of inflation.
Thirdly, energy efficiency and costliness for manufacturers are another concern. Manufacturers are more often seeking to establish sustainable production processes, focusing on energy efficiency driven to cater to the demand for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and offering long-lasting economic benefits as rising energy costs pose a challenge.
Daniel said that the growing emphasis on environmental conservation and ethical sourcing also pressures the company to adopt responsible practices that uphold ethical labour practices and protect biodiversity.
Finally, labour shortages significantly impact the industry, ripple effect on every challenge facing the industry as it affects production capabilities and can increase costs overall.
To manage these challenges, Daniel advised that food processing and packaging manufacturers should strategise to enhance efficiency and flexibility and incorporate digitalisation in their operations. He gave four suggestions to achieve this: process optimisation, technology integration, market adaptability, digitalisation, and partnering with a complete solutions supplier.
“By adopting strategies that leverage technological advancements and focus on agility and efficiency, food manufacturers can navigate the challenges posed by fluctuating consumer demands and the imperative for sustainable, efficient production.”
As a global leader in food processing and packaging solutions, TNA uses a customer-centric approach to ensure goals are achieved and exceeded in the food and processing industry. This is achieved through three key value pillars: performance, responsibility, and customer-centric approach.
Through performance, TNA creates and sustains complete line solutions purposefully created for high output with the lowest unplanned downtime and cost of ownership. This complete line includes processing and packaging solutions – from destoning, washing, peeling, inspecting, slicing, washing, blanching, dewatering, frying, deoiling, sorting, distribution and seasoning to packaging.
“Our product line controls, integration, SCADA reporting, and consultative services ensure you get the most from your investment.”
TNA’s responsibility is underscored by its innovative spirit for sustainability, reducing waste, preserving energy, and investing in communities. Its commitment to fairness, passion, future orientation, and reliability drives its value of responsibility.
TNA makes a concerted effort to simplify integration with a single point of contact, making its offering consumer, and customer-friendly. This customer-centric approach is achieved through its comprehensive services and a global network of experts, with 30 offices around the globe and 60 field service engineers worldwide. The TNA team helps tackle labour and training challenges, utilising their extensive experience and local presence.
“Because we integrate everything we sell, we can provide invaluable insight on utilising your investment best and inspire you with new ideas for optimising your business.”
To adapt its solutions to diverse markets and regions, TNA employs a tailored approach, cultural understanding, local support, customisations, and a commitment to sustainability. This ensures their solutions meet the specific needs of different markets.
TNA offers primary packaging solutions, including the 'Perfect Pair', the tna robag 3e and the tna auto-splice 3, which provide increased uptime, minimised resource use, and flexibility. These solutions enhance production efficiency for snack products by offering high speeds, reduced waste, and adaptability to different packaging needs.
This ‘Perfect Pair’ can deliver up to a five percent increase in production uptime with only a 200mm increase in floor space.
The tna auto-splice 3 contributes to smoother film changeovers by automatically joining new rolls of film, reducing interruptions and increasing uptime. This results in more efficient packaging operations for manufacturers.
TNA's case packing capabilities, exemplified by the tna ropac 5, offer high-speed case packing for flexible bags, enhancing throughput and flexibility in packaging processes. Its tool-less changeovers and compact design simplify integration into production lines.
The mass-based gravimetric spraying and dry seasoning control methods used in the tna intelli-flav OMS 5.1 ensure consistent seasoning and waste reduction by applying precise amounts of seasoning and oil based on pre-programmed recipes, resulting in uniform product coverage and minimised waste.
TNA has numerous success stories, such as collaborations with Benestar Brands, Burts Snacks, Mister Bee, and Kingsway Confectionery, where their solutions have significantly improved production capacity, quality, and efficiency.
Regarding future goals, TNA aims to continue innovating and fine-tuning its services, such as the Virtual Factory solution, to help customers streamline workflows and produce high-quality products efficiently. They also prioritise sustainability and social impact, supporting initiatives that benefit disadvantaged communities and advocating for social justice. TNA is committed to delivering excellence, sustainability, and positive social impact in the food processing and packaging industry.
“With TNA, you gain more than just industry-leading solutions; you become part of a forward-thinking company committed to delivering excellence, sustainability, and positive social impact.”
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