MULTIVAC: Processing and Packaging What's Valuable.

By Stacey Newman

Multivac is a name known across the world for its processing and packaging solutions. MPO members will recognize Multivac as a key supplier of integrated equipment solutions for the meat processing industry.

Phil Crozier is a packaging and processing specialist. With over 25 years in packaging, he worked for Multivac UK before recently being appointed as market development manager for Multivac Canada. Crozier has a lot to say about Multivac—the company, its history, and the future of packaging for the meat and poultry industry in particular.

Multivac is a private, family-run company started in Germany in 1961 that now boasts 85 subsidiaries worldwide, with the Canadian subsidiary having been established in 2007.

“Our company started out in a tiny facility in Germany exactly 60 years ago manufacturing packaging machinery for small, local butchers. I’ve worked for the business for over 22 years on two different continents now, and it’s an amazing company to work for. It’s managed to retain the familiarity of a family-owned company whilst achieving staggering growth that any publiclyowned business would be envious of. It’s a stable, well-managed and invested, world-class, global company that’s a destination employer for our colleagues and a long-term partner for customers,” says Crozier.

Crozier says that the meat and poultry industry is exciting, describing it as “a fast-paced, constantly changing and challenging market,” and he doesn’t see that changing anytime soon. “The manufacture and supply of packaging equipment remains a large part of our core business today, especially for the raw and cooked, chilled protein manufacturing sectors. We also serve the processing and portioning demands of meat and poultry companies too,” says Crozier.

Of his personal philosophies, Crozier believes in “working hard, setting his own bar higher than anyone else’s, and he aims to always over-deliver.” He offers an important piece of advice for those starting out or facing career challenges: “Hire good people; trust them to do their job and support them so that they can.”

What’s coming down the pike? The future, post-pandemic, includes helping customers tackle such diverse issues as labour shortages and environmental commitments; to produce faster, more flexible equipment with a shorter return on investment, a degree of automation and better packaging, and he says Multivac is up to the challenge. According to Crozier, Multivac has launched a number of new products this year including a new tray sealer and a new belt-fed vacuum chamber machine, both of which are aimed at small to medium-sized meat processors and food manufacturers.

Phil Crozier is the market development manager for Multivac Canada. On the equipment side, the company offers two new labellers, including a full wrap version which is particularly effective at replacing cardboard sleeves and for use on skin packs, plus a blow-on labeller aimed at meat and poultry skin packs, in particular, usually removing one or two production line personnel.

“We have also upgraded our remote assistance package and launched a brand-new self-service online portal called myMultivac which provides our customers with instant access to spares, manuals, machine history, service records, parts order tracking and more,” says Crozier.

Sustainability: Sustainable business also means cost management. Packaging solutions from Multivac offer reliable protection for all food products, and they ensure the optimum shelf life and hygiene are achieved throughout the entire logistical chain. The company promotes sustainability as a key business driver. Aiming for the smallest possible use of materials and resources when producing food packs of every type, Multivac also promotes the development of new packaging materials from mono films and renewable materials, to offer customers a wide range of packaging solutions with the maximum recyclability.

Customer service and partnerships: Multivac offers comprehensive support across Canada in developing customer projects, from the very first discussions right through to aftersales service—covering the whole process chain with innovative, high-performance, and cost-effective solutions for processing and packing food products.

The Multivac product range is reportedly the widest in the market. Whether offering innovative solutions for thermoforming packaging, packing in trays and film pouches, as well as automatic loading, together with its belt systems and boxing units, Multivac has been among the most successful suppliers in the global market for decades.

As for supporting meat and poultry processors: Crozier explains that aligning with MPO members is vital because, he says, “MPO plays a critical role across the province in representing and leading Ontario’s meat industry, enabling it to thrive and grow so that it can reach its full potential whilst its members are kept well informed and supported themselves.”