McCain Foods Goes Global With Activplant Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence
World's largest producer of french fries to use Activplant to improve product quality and drive higher efficiencies by reducing process variability while increasing production
LONDON, ONTARIO - July 27, 2005 - The world's largest manufacturer of frozen french fries, McCain Foods has more than 55 food production facilities on six continents and sells its products in more than 110 countries. Production quantities are measured in tonnes per hour, yet quality is paramount, which is why McCain has decided to deploy enterprise manufacturing intelligence software from Activplant Corporation in selected plants worldwide.
"The solution will be used to support strategic quality improvement and cost reduction initiatives," said Lloyd Borowski, VP of global engineering and manufacturing, McCain Foods Limited. "We envision that Activplant will be a significant advantage in our continuous improvement program, and help equipment operators make better production decisions."
McCain officials chose Activplant after a successful trial in its Easton, Maine, plant, one of the largest McCain facilities. Over 50 machines and stations are involved in the french fry production process, performing every task from peeling and cutting to frying and freezing. These sophisticated machines run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
"Like many other world-class manufacturers, McCain Foods understands the business benefits of driving operational excellence and accountability of its operations worldwide," said Dennis Cocco, Activplant president and CEO. "Both management and production personnel alike can more quickly identify factors affecting quality and throughput and prevent issues leading to production losses."
With the Activplant solution now in place, information is readily accessible and real time metrics can be used to drive operational excellence and continuous improvement. Some of the benefits McCain has seen include improved equipment efficiencies, increased throughput, reduced capital expenditure, lower operating costs and improved product quality.
The Activplant solution is dynamic, controllable and maintainable by each plant. McCain expects greatly reduced application maintenance costs as existing plant resources will maintain and modify the Activplant solution without having to hire expensive IT or consulting resources.
About McCain Foods McCain Foods Limited has more than 55 production facilities on six continents, and more than 20,000 employees. McCain is the world's largest manufacturer of frozen french fried potatoes and a major producer of other quality frozen foods, selling its products in more than 110 countries.
About Activplant
An enterprise manufacturing intelligence market leader, Activplant’s Performance Management System has set the standard in operational excellence within the world’s largest and most admired manufacturers. Aimed at high-volume, high-automation plants, Activplant’s solution consolidates plant floor data into relevant real-time and historical information, enabling productivity gains by optimizing product, people, equipment and processes. With Activplant solutions, plant managers and manufacturing executives can focus on the key issues in their facilities that ultimately improve product quality, accelerate new product launches and drive performance gains. Activplant is a privately held company based in London, Ontario. For more information please visit www.activplant.com.
For more information, contact:
Donna Araujo
High Road Communications
T: 416.644.2283
E: daraujo@highroad.com
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