How Klümper continuously develops its raw ham production while combining the highest product quality with maximum yield and efficient processes.
High-quality raw ham, faithfully produced to traditional family recipes—this has been the guiding principle of the Klümper family business for more than 200 years. When processing and refining raw ham and other cured meats, Klümper combines traditional production methods with state-of-the-art production conditions—always with the aim of creating products of the highest quality and unmatched flavor.
To address the rising requirements of their sliced products processing, the company had to continuously optimize their production methods. Premium products such as raw ham place particularly high demands on the slicing and packaging process. What they needed was a solution that combines the highest product quality with maximum yield and economical production. To achieve all that, Klümper changed their strategy.
It is not without pride that raw ham specialist Klümper speaks of "manufacturing premium products to traditional family recipes under state-of-the-art conditions". Apart from lots of experience, commitment and passion for salting, smoking, air drying and refining raw ham and cured meats, this also includes the premium processing of those products.
Bernd Egbers knows exactly what this means for slicing raw ham. The technical manager has been with Klümper for 35 years and knows the requirements that his products place on processing and packaging systems: "Our ham is a natural product that is relatively uneven and difficult to slice." Weight-accurate slicing, gentle transport and precise placement of the sliced ham into the packaging, he says, are a real challenge. "The end customer wants to be able to take out slices easily, and the ham also needs to keep for a long time in the package," Egbers explains. "That's why we checked where we can optimize our processes. We saw potential in our existing technology, the slicing and packaging lines we were using until then, and went looking for better solutions," the technical manager recalls.
For Klümper, it was crucial to find a partner who could address these requirements in their entirety. After many years of working with well-established structures, the decision was therefore deliberately solution-oriented: Klümper was looking for the technically and economically suitable answer to this demanding problem—and they found it at Weber Food Technology, a new machine partner for the company. The line solution they developed together is now the first ever in the Klümper production to combine a press, scanner, slicer, automation and packaging into one end-to-end process tailored entirely to the properties of raw ham.
Getting raw ham into perfect shape.
This solution impressed not only Bernd Egbers, but also Joachim Irsfeld, Key Account Manager at Weber Food Technology, who supports important German customers and ran the project developing this first slicing line for Klümper. Since raw ham is a naturally grown, irregular product, a key component of the new Klümper line is the press. It gives the raw ham a defined, even shape for automated high-performance slicing. This is essential for producing attractive slices and precise portions while achieving high yield and minimizing give-away. According to Irsfeld, Weber has been relying on servo technology for over forty years, which is also used in its own wePRESS molding press. Thanks to this technology and the sound expertise that went into the wePRESS, demanding natural products like raw ham are formed much more precisely and efficiently than with regular presses that work with hydraulics. The fact that Klümper was able to reduce the overall consumption of compressed air in their production by ten percent is a side effect that has Bernd Egbers especially pleased: “Considering that this is calculated as a portion of the energy supply of the entire production, ten percent is quite a lot.”
What is even more important for processing raw ham, however, is that the Weber wePRESS molds the natural product into a uniform and precise shape, which significantly reduces loss during the slicing process and thus increases yield. "Raw ham, like the ham produced by Klümper, must be sliced as efficiently as possible, because it is a high-priced product," Irsfeld explains. This is why Weber integrated a weSCAN 5000 in the line solution for Klümper in addition to the press. Using four integrated laser scanners, the weSCAN detects the contour and weight of the ham to facilitate optimum product use with high yield and minimum give-away. "The great benefit of the weSCAN is that we can scan the products precisely to the millimeter and then weigh them", explains Joachim Irsfeld. "That way, we know exactly how the ham needs to be sliced to achieve the desired package weight and use the raw product as completely as possible."
For the actual slicing, Klümper uses the Weber weSLICE 7500 with Vario technology, which allows for track-based product infeeding. "This lets us process two raw hams in parallel and slice them to accurate weights despite their different lengths and contours," says Irsfeld. With previous technology used in the Klümper production, dual-track slicing of raw ham was not possible because of the width of the product. The hams could only be sliced on a single track. One reason for this is that the blade could not cut both products at the same time. "Now we can do it," Joachim Irsfeld states proudly. "Since Weber founded a slicer blade factory over twenty years ago, such developments can be adapted and implemented." Much to the delight of Klümper, because it allowed the well-established company to directly improve its output without having to modify or expand their production facilities.
Since all components were planned, integrated and coordinated from a single source, Weber was able to adapt the entire line to Klümper's requirements. The components and process steps mesh seamlessly, interfaces are reduced, processes are stabilized, and the line can be seen as one unit. "Of course, the benefit of procuring everything from one source is that you don't have to worry about the interfaces and coordinating the individual manufacturers," Bernd Egbers summarizes, as he very much appreciates this aspect. "Since this was an integrated project with all system parts, we always had just one contact person for everything—that had a very positive effect on this project."
Strong partner—even after commissioning.
For Klümper's line solution, that meant for example that after dual-track slicing, thanks to an automatic infeeder the portions could be distributed to three tracks and shaped to the desired format before being placed in the packaging. The premium raw ham portions are packaged by the weber thermoformer packaging machine wePACK 7000. To provide stability and safety in the production process in addition to high performance, the machine is equipped with technical features such as web edge control.
"This ensures that the film is always fed cleanly into the chain and the flow of production is not interrupted by film offset," Joachim Irsfeld explains. Since Klümper also needed to run two different formats on the new line, the Weber packaging machine is equipped with two separate forming stations. That way, the line personnel can switch formats at the push of a button with a program change at the operating terminal—quick, easy, flexible and without a tool change.
A sophisticated system, but despite all the expertise and detail planning, problems can creep up. Klümper can rely on Weber's support even after the start of production with the new line. Because more automation also means more machine intelligence, Weber can access all line components via online support, search for potential errors, and adjust settings remotely. "And if we do have a more serious problem, a service technician is on our doorstep within one and a half hours," Bernd Egbers raves about the reliable service from Weber Food Technology. "For us, it is definitely worth the effort and the extensive switch, as it lets us produce more and better in the long term," Sinah Klümper sums it up. For Klümper, the investment in the new full solution line means that, above all, they will be able to produce flexibly, economically and at the highest quality standard for many years to come. "We know that with Weber, we have found a strong partner to stand by our side. And should something ever stop functioning, we can always rely on Weber."
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