Leuven, Belgium, 4 May 2023 – Founded more than 150 years ago in Switzerland, Nestlé started
small but would eventually expand to touch the lives of billions every day.
Nestlé now has more than 2000 brands, including global icons and local favorites. Their products can
be found in 187 countries worldwide – quite an expansion from their humble beginnings producing
condensed milk and infant cereal in the Alps.
It’s not delivery, it’s defrosting
It’s a lazy Sunday – slightly rainy outside, and you hear the oven beep to notify you it has finished
reheating. Sliding across the kitchen to the fridge, like Tom Cruise in Risky Business, you open the
freezer to grab your frozen Supreme Pizza and place it in the oven. In no time, you are pulling it out,
cutting slices, and with impatient eagerness, trying not to burn the roof of your mouth on the
scalding hot cheese. If this sounds familiar, you likely have tried some of Nestle’s frozen pizza
brands, including Jack’s, Wagner, Tombstone, and DiGiorno.
It’s not only college kids and families who want another slice. With the extreme convenience and
value that frozen pizzas boast, it’s no wonder their popularity continues to rise like a deep-dish crust
every year. The toppings on frozen pizzas are grown and harvested by farmers, and nature brings its
own variables and unpredictability. During harvesting, foreign materials, such as sticks, stones, glass,
and plastics can get mixed in with the crop. Farmers and suppliers implement safety checks before
sending these products to processors, but further screening from Nestlé eliminates these and other
foreign materials. These safety inspections utilize the most advanced sorting technologies to
enhance product safety, and to ensure that only the highest quality ingredients adorn your frozen
pizza.
The goal – continuous improvement
In 2014 at their Nonnweiler, Germany pizza factory, Nestlé dedicated space for a temporary
installation and invited a handful of sorting companies to prove their machines’ capabilities –
allowing them to run product samples for a couple of weeks.
After extensive testing, research, and validation, Nestlé decided the TOMRA sorter met their needs
best and cited the Smart Sort technology as the deciding factor.
“TOMRA Food stood out here with their ability to identify good products and not only remove the
defects. The other machines had a longer material setup process but could only identify defects.
With the Nimbus, we could train the machine which imperfections to reject while also teaching the
machine what desirable products looked like”. Will Hutson, Quality Manager Nestlé R&D.
Optical sorting is vital for product safety
In layman’s terms, the quality check process involves taking the raw material out of totes or cases,
putting it through a series of inspections, and then putting it back in totes after it has been
determined it is safe and desirable.
The first two examinations see the toppings pass through a bulk X-ray machine and then over a
magnet to remove any remaining metals. The final check sees the remaining good materials travel
through the TOMRA optical sorter before finally returning to the totes.
“One of the key strategic advantages of this technology is the ability to segregate material defects
across an entire batch, and use this data as an input to supplier performance. The ability to partner
with your suppliers and provide this type of feedback drives the continuous improvement cycle,
ultimately increasing overall consumer satisfaction.” Adam Weber, Senior Expert Supplier Quality
Management, Nestlé R&D.
Food trends continually change and stress the importance of an operation’s capacity to adapt
quickly. Being agile and evolving to meet the customers’ desires for higher-quality products makes a
world of difference. Employing TOMRA sorters has positively impacted Nestlé’s procedure, adding
an invaluable point in the process to reduce the risk of foreign matter ending up in the final product
for higher quality products makes a world of difference. Employing TOMRA sorters has positively
impacted Nestlé’s procedure, adding an invaluable point in the process to reduce the risk of foreign
matter ending up in the final product.
95,000 lbs in a one-shift operation
With their TOMRA Nimbus, Nestlé processes around 15 million pounds of raw material here at the
Solon, Ohio facility in a year, where they distribute toppings to three other production locations
around the United States. The machine’s robust capabilities allow production lines to continue
running the highest volumes while also rendering data that allows them to notify suppliers of
product quality trends earlier in the supply chain. “Based on our previous equipment testing and the
growing relationship, Nestlé trusted TOMRA’s experience and equipment and remains confident in
our partnership. The equipment’s quality and reliability minimized the need for support or
interaction. After the initial commissioning and training by TOMRA, the local team has been able to
operate the unit independently. They’ve barely had to interact with it, except to change a program
or recipe to accommodate the different incoming frozen veggies being screened, and that speaks
volumes.” Will Hutson, Quality Manager, Nestlé R&D.
Who wants another slice?
Nestlé utilizes TOMRA optical sorters for their Frozen Food operations at Solon (United States) and
at their Nonnweiler facility in Germany. A corporate recommendation and Nestlé’s commitment to
food quality & safety led to the discovery and implementation of TOMRA sorters. Their dedication to
continuous process improvement, food safety, and offering their customers the highest quality
product keeps bringing them back for more.
About TOMRA Food
TOMRA Food designs and manufactures sensor-based sorting machines and integrated post-harvest
solutions transforming global food production to maximize food safety and minimize food loss, by
making sure Every Resource CountsTM.
The company has more than 13,800 units installed at food growers, packers and processors around
the world for Confectionery, Fruit, Dried fruit, Grains and Seeds, Potatoes, Proteins, Nuts, and
Vegetables.
These solutions include advanced grading, sorting, peeling and analytical technology to help
businesses improve returns, gain operational efficiencies, and ensure a safe food supply.
TOMRA Food operates centers of excellence, regional offices and manufacturing locations within the
United States, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia.
Follow TOMRA Food on Facebook @TOMRA.Food, Twitter @TOMRAFood, Instagram @TOMRAFood,
LinkedIn at TOMRA Food and YouTube at TOMRA Food.
TOMRA Food is a division of TOMRA Group. TOMRA was founded in 1972 that began with the design,
manufacturing and sale of reverse vending machines (RVMs) for automated collection of used
beverage containers.
Today, TOMRA is leading the resource revolution to transform how the planet’s resources are
obtained, used and reused to enable a world without waste. The company’s other business divisions
are TOMRA Recycling and TOMRA Collection.
TOMRA has approximately 105,000 installations in over 100 markets worldwide and had total
revenues of about 12 billion NOK in 2022. The Group employs 5,000 globally and is publicly listed on
the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company headquarters are in Asker, Norway.
For further information about TOMRA, visit www.tomra.com.
Media Contacts:
Nuria Martí
Alarcon & Harris PR
Avda. Ramón y Cajal, 27
28016 Madrid
Spain
T: +34 91 415 30 20
E: nmarti@alarconyharris.com
W: www.alarconyharris.com
Marijke Bellemans
Director Brand and Communications
Research Park Haasrode 1622
Romeinse straat 20
3001 Leuven
Belgium
M: +32 (0)476 74 19 18
E: marijke.bellemans@tomra.com