Riverford doubles throughput with new packing machines

ONE OF the UK's leading organic veg box companies has doubled its packaging capacity, reduced downtime and transitioned to fully compostable paper since installing two new GIC vertical form fill and seal packaging machines this time last year.

Riverford, which delivers around 70,000 boxes of fresh produce each week, installed the new machines at Wash Farm in Devon in March 2025. The GIC4100 VFFS machines replaced two unreliable and slow machines that used air and suction cups to form bags that held up to 2.5kg of potatoes.

"Our throughput target is 25 bags per minute," said Dave Gillon, operations manager, roots grading at Riverford. "With the old machines, we were lucky if we were getting ten bags a minute from one machine. So, that’s 20 bags a minute with two machines, but failure rates brought that down to around 15 bags a minute. When you're trying to do 110,000 bags a week, that’s quite a challenge.

Compostable shift gains pace

"We had a GIC VFB4 bagging machine installed at our main site about five years ago, which packs salad and leaf crops such as spinach, mixed salad leaves, rocket and wild garlic. Initially, we were forming the bags from standard plastic, but since 2021, we’ve reconfigured the machine to handle home-compostable materials, as Riverford no longer uses plastic on its fruit and veg. We worked very closely with GIC on that transition, and it was the strength of the working relationship that we established during that process, and the fact that the VFB4 is such a reliable workhorse, that led us back to them in early 2025 when we decided to upgrade."

GIC worked closely with Riverford to ensure the new machines could work with both the company’s additive-free paper and its scatter print, allowing bag size and capacity to be altered without changing the packaging material.

One of GIC’s most popular machines, the GIC4100 is an intermittent-motion machine capable of handling up to 75 packs per minute across a wide range of pack formats, with widths up to 400mm.

Leaner, faster packing lines

"At the moment, the GIC4100 is delivering 35 bags a minute, which is more than double the output we typically achieved with the previous two machines combined. Equally important to us is the fact that the paper we can now use is one hundred per cent paper. There are no additives or plastics in there, and the machine seals it reliably every time," Gillon continued.

As well as being quicker, Riverford has also significantly reduced the amount of packaging it uses. "Before the GIC machine went in, we needed to store 56 pallets of paper to produce 50,000 bags," he explained. "The new approach means we only require 12 pallets to produce the same amount of bags. So, the change has been a space saver, and we are now much leaner in terms of the amount of paper we need on-site."

Another important aspect of the GIC4100 is its inline printer, which means Riverford do not have to preprint its labels, further improving efficiency and flexibility on the packing line.

Efficiency gains at scale

Following the successful move to the GIC4100 at Wash Farm, Riverford replicated the installation at its Peterborough site in June 2025. Initially, the GIC4100 packed potatoes, but today it also handles Brussels sprouts and sweet mixed peppers.

"Again, the performance of the GIC machine has been impressive," Gillon stated. "Recently, the team packed 120,000 packs in five days and didn’t go over an eight-hour day. Having the same machine at both Peterborough and Wash Farm has also made staff training and maintenance very easy, and of course, GIC’s team has helped us in those areas too."

For more information: 

gic.uk.net

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