Project
Cranberry Terschelling: How optimisation and improved planning squeezed more juice out of a production line
NIRAS helped the Dutch company Cranberry Terschelling increase their production capacity by optimizing their production line and improving their planning. Thereby, the company could meet demand without having to go through a costly replacement of the entire juice production line.
December 9, 2022
- SECTORS: Food & Beverage
- COUNTRIES: The Netherlands
- CLIENT: Cranberry Terschelling
Cranberry Terschelling is a Dutch company specialized in cranberry products with juice being one of their most important outputs. The company has its production plant and coordination site in the coastal town of Harlingen in the northern part of The Netherlands.
In recent years, the company has experienced increased demand, but the production line was relatively outdated and seemingly not fit to increase the production. To solve this challenge, Cranberry Terschelling turned to NIRAS.
NIRAS avoided costly renewal of the production line
NIRAS analysed a series of different factors to find the most viable solution Cranberry Terschelling.
Our experts examined the number of different products that are produced at the facility, the production process, the line, maintenance, lifespan, cleaning processes, and raw materials.
Based on these findings, it became evident that an increase in production could achieved by making more efficient planning, rearranging storage of the products, and concentrating cleaning processes.
Instead of installing a new production line, our experts cooperated with the company to find new ways to use the existing line better to produce more cranberry products and produce them smarter. Due to these changes, the current line can last a while longer even though it is now producing more in numbers than it did previously.
Cranberry Terschelling
Cranberry Terschelling is a Dutch company based in the town of Harlingen and gets its cranberries from the island Terschelling in the northern part of The Netherlands. The company produces a variety of cranberry based products such as juice, jam, sauce, syrup, sweets, etc.
Analysis and data can be used for future updates
NIRAS’s approach and methodology means that a costly renewal of the production line is avoided at present, and the company still manages to achieve its target in terms of capacity with the existing equipment.
And even though the current production line is not ideal for the company’s long-term goals regarding future growth and development, the present project’s process of analysing the production line has provided valuable data that will help future transitions of the plant. One of the key findings is that the production involves more features than just the physical production line itself.
Despite the increased capacity, Cranberry Terschelling does not rule out getting a new line in the future, and it might be an inevitable step in order to meet the future growth and development of the company.
However, the current project means that the timing of the renewal can be adjusted to combine more conveniently with other events within the company and the market.
Did you know...
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that cranberries were not that popular in the Netherlands, but that changed over the years after success in other countries such as England?
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that the cranberry is native to North America?
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and that the origin of cranberries on the island of Terschell can de dated back to early in the 19th century, when a barrel washed up on the shore after a storm?
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