The Challenge

A mid-sized meat and ready-meal producer near Maribor, Slovenia, was packing around 1,200 vacuum pouches per day using two small tabletop vacuum units. Each unit handled only a few bags per cycle, forcing operators to stand at the machines almost the entire shift. Sealing became a bottleneck for the whole line.

Because of limited capacity, batches often waited unsealed for up to an hour, reducing shelf life and causing purge in the bags. The company was discarding around 3% of production each week due to short-dated or visually unacceptable packs. Management wanted an industrial solution that would lift capacity, stabilise quality, and free operators for higher-value tasks.

Manual Process

Operators used two small tabletop vacuum sealers placed side by side. Each cycle required manual loading, lid closing, waiting for vacuum and seal, then unloading. Throughput varied with operators, and settings were adjusted by feel, leading to inconsistent results.

Before Automation:

• Daily volume: 1,200 packs/day
• Cycle time per pack (including handling): 36 seconds
• Total daily time: 1,200 × 36 s = 43,200 s ≈ 720 minutes (12.0 hours/day)
• Labor cost: 12.0 h/day × €25/h = €300/day
• Rework/issues: approx. 3% of packs needing re-sealing or scrapping due to poor vacuum or short shelf life

Two operators rotated on the sealers, spending most of their shift on repetitive loading and unloading. When one machine needed cleaning or cooling, the backlog quickly grew, forcing overtime on busy days.

Automated Solution

The company installed a DOZE600 Double Chamber Vacuum Sealer alongside the existing line. With its two chambers and dual 2 × 20 m³/h pumps, operators can load one chamber while the other is running. Standard programs were created on the PC control panel for different product types, removing guesswork from settings.

After Installing DOZE600 Double Chamber Vacuum Sealer:

• Machine operates at 60% of maximum capacity for reliability
• New cycle time: one chamber cycle of 25 seconds sealing 12 packs (6 per bar × 2 bars), effectively ≈ 2.1 seconds/pack
• Total daily time: 1,200 packs × 2.1 s ≈ 2,520 s ≈ 42 minutes pure machine time; including loading/unloading and changeovers, rounded to 270 minutes (4.5 hours/day)
• Labor cost: 4.5 h/day × €25/h = €113/day
• Quality improvement: rework/waste reduced from 3% to around 0.9% due to consistent vacuum level and seal integrity

One operator now comfortably manages the DOZE600 while also assisting with upstream loading. The second operator was reassigned to inspection and labeling, removing the sealing bottleneck and improving line balance.

ROI Calculation

Investment:
Machine price: €2,799
Daily labor savings: Before labor €300/day − After labor €113/day = €187/day
Monthly savings (22 working days): €187/day × 22 days = €4,114/month
Payback period: €2,799 ÷ €187/day ≈ 14.97 days ≈ approximately 15 working days (under 3 calendar months including implementation and ramp-up)

Additional, unquantified gains include reduced product waste (from 3% to 0.9%), better shelf life, and fewer complaints from retail customers about loose or leaky packs. These benefits further strengthen the real payback beyond the direct labor calculation.

Conclusion

By moving from two small tabletop sealers to the DOZE600 Double Chamber Vacuum Sealer, the Slovenian food producer cut sealing labor time from 12.0 hours to 4.5 hours per day and removed a critical bottleneck. With direct labor savings of about €187 per day, the machine paid for itself in roughly 15 working days, while also improving shelf life and reducing waste.

“Switching to the DOZE600 cut our sealing time from 12 hours down to about 4.5 hours a day and saves us roughly €187 in labor every shift. We recovered the €2,799 investment in around 15 working days, and our waste from poor vacuuming dropped from 3% to under 1%.” — Marko K., Production Manager, Maribor Foods d.o.o., Slovenia