Since 1965, Tony O’s Supermarket and Catering, Kingsville, Ohio, has set the standard for high-quality, competitively priced meats, homemade deli products and a wide assortment of other food offerings. In fact, proprietor Tony Orlando has leveraged his experience as a certified meat broker into creating an enterprise that is recognized throughout the area for offering the finest cuts of meat available to individual grocery consumers.

While consistently striving to provide a level of quality that is unmatched in the region, Tony O’s is equally committed to keeping the prices for its meat and other selections at a level that is competitive and customers the satisfaction of knowing they are getting the best value possible.

In order to maintain this delicate balance of quality and cost control, Tony O’s recognizes the necessity for knowledgeable, experienced personnel, lean and efficient production processes and up-to-date equipment.

That’s why, in 2016, Tony O’s decided it was time to take a quantum leap forward with regard to the equipment it was using to weigh, wrap and label its fresh cut meats. Acknowledging that it received 20-plus years of service from its existing METTLER TOLEDO equipment, Tony O’s chose to upgrade to the METTLER TOLEDO 880 Auto Wrapper, dubbing them the first supermarket in Ohio to do so.

This purchase was hardly made on a whim – proprietor Orlando did extensive research on all of the available products in this category, and concluded that the 880’s speed, flexibility, intuitive functionality and overall efficiency would be the best option for his enterprise.

“I did extensive research on products available, and kept coming back to the 880,” says Orlando. “It’s extremely modern and does it all. As an owner, I encourage others to learn about it. It wraps very nicely. There is a whole host of things that this machine can do that simply couldn’t be done 10 years ago.”

Love at first wrap

For the associates working directly with the 880 Auto Wrapper every day, the experience has been nothing less than transformational.

“I love her,” says Leslie Byrd, head meat wrapper. “I’ve even given her a name – Seinaru, which means ‘holy’ in Japanese. I can whip through a tray in no time at all.”

That’s because a tray of cuts that used to take 40 minutes to wrap can now be done in a mere 7 minutes. This efficiency also applies to changing the film, which is considerably quicker than before. And, whereas she used to have to change the roll of labels twice a day, she can now go a full week between changes.

“Changing the labels and film out is so easy. With the step-by-step instructions on the machine, it just walks you right through it,” says Byrd. “It takes almost no time at all.”

Improvements at every turn

Both Byrd and meat department manager Tim Marshall have been impressed with the quality and consistency of the wrap, which uses less film, creates a tighter seal and gives every single package a uniform, professional look.

Larger sized packages that used to require hand wrapping are now handled with ease by the 880 Auto Wrapper. And, leaking packages that require a time-consuming re-wrap have become a thing of the past. Changing a price or PLU is almost instantaneous thanks to the tactile keypad and user-friendly graphic interface. And, because of its built-in ergonomics and smaller footprint, wasted motion and space have been significantly reduced, resulting in a smoother, safer, more productive backroom process.

The perfect partner for growth

A supermarket meat department backroom has a lot in common with a manufacturing plant—raw materials come in and finished product goes out. A streamlined process that capitalizes on the tenets of lean manufacturing creates the potential to satisfy ever-increasing demands. The METTLER TOLEDO 880 Auto Wrapper is designed to satisfy retailers of all sizes and levels of volume for many years to come.

Tony O’s began using their new 880 Auto Wrapper in October, and for Byrd, “it felt like Christmas came early for me.”