When two California canners decided to combine forces, the result was a company with double the canning capacity and annual sales of $100 million. Efficiency has to be optimized during the packing season, so the company has installed double groove rolls on its Angelus P-type seamers.

In September 1998, Gangi Brothers Canning Company of Riverbank, California, joined forces with Sun Garden Packing (Atwater Canning) of Atwater, California, to boost their ability to handle 300,000 to 400,000 US tons (295,000 to 393,700 metric tones) of tomatoes annually. The merger represented a step up in status for both companies, from individually being considered small, regional canners to a presence that is now considered that of a mid-level processor with sales in the US, Mexico, and Canada.


The Sun Garden-Gangi Canning Company has increased its annual sales since the merger, utilizing over 300 year-round employees and 1200 seasonal workers who assist in processing tomato products, dry soak beans and Hispanic oriented products such as jalapeno peppers, enchilada sauce, and hominy - a bean porridge used in Hispanic holiday soups.


The 27-acre Gangi Brothers Riverbank facility continues to focus on tomato-based products, utilizing nine Angelus P-type seamers set to close 603 x 700 diameter three-piece sanitary cans. The 18-acre Sun Garden Atwater production facility operates eight seamers for tomatoes, vegetables, sauces, and a full line of dry soak bean products (kidney, pinto, butter, chili, and black beans), closing 300, 401, and 603 diameter three-piece sanitary cans.

Together, the two processing plants have a total of more than one million square feet of covered processing and warehouse space. Located in the heart of California's Central Valley, the most productive tomato-growing region in the world, the two plants are 40 miles apart, with a 200,000 square foot distribution center strategically located between them, in the town of Modesto.

One particular result of the merger has been increased efficiency on the can line, specifically in the area of seamer tooling. By switching from single groove seaming rolls to the double groove seaming roll assembly and TMI P-Pin manufactured by Tool Makers International, the wear-life of the seaming rolls on the Angelus P seamers has doubled while tooling installation time has been cut in half.

Manufactured to work with the latest release of Angelus P-type seamers, the double groove seaming roll assembly consists of two profiles on one roll with a pre-set pin assembly.

A typical first or second operation seaming roll has one profile ground onto the roll body - referred to as a single groove roll. The design for the double groove seaming roll assembly incorporates two mirror profiles ground onto one part, which accounts for the doubled life compared to its single groove counterpart.

Savings all around
Anthony Gangi, director of purchasing at Sun Garden-Gangi Canning comments, "The double groove seaming roll assembly has served us well in that we're getting double the life of the part for less than twice the cost of a single groove roll. We're saving money not only in the cost of the part, but there is a saving in material use, as well as labor costs during tooling set-up time."

Installation time of the double groove seaming roll is reduced in half by use of the TMI P-Pin, which is a pre-set pin that requires no shimming during installation. Without the requirement of using metal shims to set roll bearings, the mechanic is no longer required to check the fittings several times to achieve proper positioning. The P-Pin utilizes a locking set-screw to maintain consistent bearing placement within the roll assembly while in use throughout a packing season.

Cipriano Garcia, head seamer mechanic at the Sun Garden-Gangi Canning Riverbank plant remarks, "When we used single groove rolls in the past, the bearings had to be shimmed in place. But the shims would wear out and the rolls would shift position. You'd have to re-shim everything back into position and that takes extra time. Since we check our tooling every four hours, production would slow down when the bearings had to be re-shimmed each time. Now, the only requirement is to make sure the bearings are properly greased."

Anthony Gangi adds, "It's critical that we keep close tolerances to get a good seam. With the older-style single groove rolls it took greater effort to make sure they were set properly. With the double groove seaming roll, we still check the position of the first and second operation rolls every four hours, but we find that once they're installed, they never lose their correct positioning."

He goes on to explain, "When we're in the middle of a pack, which can last anywhere from 50 to 100 days during one year, with three shifts per day, we have to be as efficient as possible in getting the most out of our seamers and seamer tooling. The double groove seaming roll assembly makes it possible for us to operate at optimum levels."

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