With ever-tightening health and safety regulations being implemented across the food and beverage industry, production sites require close monitoring and consistently reliable products without fuss. Companies must ensure they are in compliance with HACCP, ISO and NSF H1 standards at all times, keeping up to date documentation of chemical use in a holistic, cost-effective way.
Duncan McKellar, Key Account Executive at BSC, has been working alongside CRC Industries to offer comprehensive lubrication supply to a major Australian food packaging manufacturer for many years. According to Duncan, the customer is a world-leader in food safety practices, relying heavily on CRC’s versatile lubricant, oils and grease products.
“They were using various brands of spray lubricants, some of which were food grade, but not all. When they began production of PET plastic food and beverage containers, it became crucial for them to integrate food-safe materials across the plant. My proposal to standardise their lubricant range lead to them opting for CRC to satisfy all applications. They have been extremely happy with the results.”
CRC’s range of high-quality lubricant sprays are designed to eliminate binding and sticking on conveyors, handling equipment, ovens, pulleys and other high-friction points on site. They offer surface protection with a non-hardening film to minimise corrosion and significantly extend wear life on manufacturing machinery.
CRC’s range of aerosol products feature the unique Pema-Nozzle which offers a solid one-piece nozzle system to eliminate the risk of small parts becoming dislodged. Additionally, the can and nozzle designs incorporate bright green and yellow colours, and are easily identifiable should they be lost during use. These lubricants can be used in fixed machinery along production lines, but also in mobile settings such as pallet conveyors and storage systems – wherever food grade products are required. This versatility, along with the attraction of a holistic, gapless product range, renders CRC an attractive option for businesses looking to upgrade or overhaul.
Duncan explains that going above and beyond to offer accessible solutions is where BSC shines amongst the supply market. He is always on the lookout for new opportunities to solve customer issues and make day-to-day operations easier. Even when problems are not directly related to product failure, BSC’s expert representatives are eager to assist in finding better, more cost-effective options.
“We do a weekly stock check of requirements for this customer and supply accordingly. I’m often on site at their manufacturing and recycling plants, which are both sites that see heavy wear on parts, requiring constant monitoring. A lot of what we aim to do is preventative risk management, because they are operating 24/7 and a sudden halt in their system could be disastrous.”
“When we get called in to replace a product, sometimes the one we are replacing is no longer available,” says Duncan. “Maybe it was made twenty years ago, and it is no longer in production, or there might be freight delays. It is our job to come up with an answer for what is available now – we are always successful in appointing an alternative that does the job just as well, if not better.”
Over several years, CRC has developed the Greenlight Food Safety Program, offering in-depth training across the use of their food grade products. The Greenlight Program provides detailed safety data sheets and catalogues during auditing processes, making stock management more streamlined. BSC customers who invest in these products can also opt to undergo these thorough, informative sessions, designed to ensure the highest level of food safety and handling for each business. Information covered includes product usage, demonstrations, and education on the benefits of employing industry-standard lubricants on manufacturing plants.
