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Tipping the Scale
An unbelievable deal—including a new scale, a great interface, financing, and service—convinced Idaho Natural and Organic Foods to switch to High Tek's automated equipment for Food Weighing and Packaging.
Idaho Natural and Organic Foods (INAOF), founded in 2019, is a private label manufacturer of potato and appetizer products for foodservice and retail customers. INAOF was created to tap into the growing demand for natural, organic products. INAOF’s mission is, “To be the side dish and appetizer for everyone company.” INAOF offers potato and appetizer products that are organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and kosher.
INAOF’s potato products include baked, coated, formed, roasted, seasoned, blanched, and homestyle sliced potatoes, along with seasoned fries and sweet potato fries. INAOF also manufactures a variety of appetizers including mozzarella cheese sticks, breaded mushrooms, formed onion rings, avocado fries, buffalo cauliflower wings, plant-based jalapeno poppers, and more.
A Strategically Located, Flexible Manufacturing Facility
All INAOF products are manufactured at the company’s 40,000-square-foot facility in Mountain Home, Idaho, in the heart of the country’s highest-quality potato and vegetable growing regions. The plant and equipment were purchased from a previous food manufacturer at INAOF inception.
INAOF’s manufacturing facility is a single-line operation that runs every week and employs 26 to 36 people. While INAOF can run a two-shift operation, one shift is most common. CEO Jeff Jermunson, a veteran of the food industry, said INAOF is unique with respect to the flexibility of its processing capabilities. INAOF has considerable experience supporting large food processors and manufacturers by assisting with the R&D process and helping launch new products.
Struggling in the Packaging Environment
The equipment that INAOF acquired when purchasing the existing facility included a Bosch continuous motion vertical bagger packaging machine and an Ishida scale.
High Tek USA's Multi-head Combination Weigher in INAOF's warehouse.
Shortly after Jermunson joined the company in the fall of 2022, he and facility general manager Nicole Seaman observed, “We were struggling with the performance of the Ishida scale.” This was leading to downstream issues with the Bosch equipment. These issues included underfills and overfills, which resulted in a large amount of product waste due to the scale’s inconsistencies.
In speaking with employees who had worked at the plant, Jermunson and Seaman learned, “The struggle in the packaging environment was nothing new.”
To Reinvest or Replace?
In December 2022, Jermunson and Seaman realized that moving forward with the existing scale was not a viable option. INAOF needed to either:
- Reinvest in the existing Ishida scale. “Do we throw good money after bad equipment?”
Jermunson asked. - Or, replace the existing scale with new equipment with a simpler interface. In thinking through this decision, INAOF decided on the following criteria:
- Scaling capacity. The Ishida scale was a 20-bucket system. But INAOF didn’t need so much scaling capacity. A better solution was to have fewer, larger buckets.
- Interface. While Ishida has a good interface, it is extremely complicated for the operator. INAOF was interested in the possibility of a simpler interface.
- Cost. Ultimately, the cost was a key consideration. INAOF could either repair the Ishida scale, which would be very expensive, or could look for an alternative.
Tipping the Scale: A Great Proposal from High Tek
When exploring various alternatives, Jermunson’s contacts with knowledge of the packaging equipment world directed him to Jason Sigman, founder of High Tek.
Jermunson learned that Sigman had extensive knowledge of Ishida scales but might have other solutions for INAOF to consider.
Sigman sent out a technician to assess INAOF’s Ishida scale. This assessment resulted in recommendations about part replacements and interface changes. “It was a long list,” said Jermunson. “We could do that, but we’re still going to have the same scale.”
So, Jermunson asked Sigman about other options. Sigman replied with the following idea.
High-Tek’s Five-Part Proposal
- Deliver a new High Tek scale. Sigman developed High Tek scales based on his years of experience servicing Ishida and other scales. He developed a new line of scales to deliver exactly what customers like INAOF need.
- Take INAOF’s Ishida scale as a trade-in. That’s because High Tek sells and services Ishida scales.
- Finance the new scale for one year, at zero interest.
- Provide INAOF a 2-year service warranty.
- Furnish INAOF a 24/7 service hotline, forever. High Tek is unique in the level of real-time, expert service it provides.
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After considering whether to repair its existing Ishida scale or replace it, INAOF decided to take High Tek’s offer. “It was a super sweetheart deal,” said Jermunson, “So we did it.”