Food Manufacturing Uniform Program for Food Spoilage Reduction

Background

Crailsheim Dairy Cooperative (Milchwerk Crailsheim-Dinkelsbühl eG) was founded in 1927. Each year, it processes approximately 168 million kilograms of raw milk supplied by 302 dairy farms, producing a variety of soft and semi-hard cheeses distributed by Garmo AG. Up to 290 staff work in three shifts a day at the plant, where hygiene and efficiency are top priorities.

Top Five Achievements

With the Polytex food manufacturing uniform solution, Crailsheim Dairy Cooperative has sustainably standardized its workwear processes, increased hygiene, and reduced unnecessary inventory, while improving staff morale.

Impeccable workwear hygiene
Worry-free audit compliance
No more hoarding or shortages
Optimized textile inventory
Higher staff satisfaction and process reliability

Customer Testimonials

As soon as the auditor sees we are using the Polytex automated workwear management system, there are no more discussions about workwear. A single glance at the machines is enough. That takes a huge burden off our shoulders.

Moritz Braun

Quality Management and HACCP Officer, Crailsheim Dairy Cooperative, Germany

CUSTOMER NEEDS

Crailsheim Dairy Cooperative undergoes more than 11 audits annually, often unannounced. Maintaining HACCP-compliant hygiene standards for workwear is essential. While equipment hygiene was always excellent, minor deviations in workwear hygiene repeatedly arose. Items were cleaned externally, delivered shrink-wrapped and sorted manually. Employees had to open packages to find suitable sizes, often returning opened items. This created a risk of cross-contamination and reduced traceability. There was no visibility into whether clothing was washed at home or re-worn without hygienic cleaning.

REQUIREMENTS

For smooth production and operations, Crailsheim Dairy Cooperative aimed to optimize the workwear distribution process, ensure consistent adherence to hygiene regulations and maintain availability of flawlessly hygienic clothing.

Ensure hygiene compliance: With frequent, often unannounced audits, workwear had to meet industry hygiene standards at all times. The goal was a consistently audit- and HACCP-compliant textile supply.

Transparent inventory and usage control: Providing each worker with up to three sets of hygienically processed workwear per shift required a scalable system for managing large quantities of textiles, with real-time usage tracking to ensure traceability and inventory integrity.

Efficient dispensing and optimized workflow: Workwear access had to be quick and controlled to prevent hoarding, improve worker satisfaction, and ensure a smoother start to each shift.

SOLUTION

In 2019, Crailsheim Dairy Cooperative installed two Polytex D300 workwear dispensing units and two Polytex R100 return units. Today, approximately 260 of the company’s 290 employees use the Polytex units, located in the changing rooms. Twice a week, used clothing is collected by a local, external laundry provider professionally processed and returned. The dairy’s cleaning team stocks the dispensing units two or three times daily as needed.

Improved hygiene and safety: Controlled and automated low-contact dispensing ensures each item returns to circulation only after professional cleaning. It reduces cross-contamination risks and ensures audit compliance.
Seamless inventory and usage control: Cloud-based Polytex Total Care Manager software enables complete traceability, including real-time inventory tracking, ensuring 24/7 availability of thousands of items.
Precise, needs-based dispensing: The system automatically dispenses the right workwear items in the right size, according to defined specifications. This prevents hoarding and ensures garment changes in line with hygiene requirements.
Fast and easy use: Users tap their employee card to get or return items in seconds. This reduces waiting times and manual searching.

RESULTS

The Polytex food manufacturing uniform management solution ensures consistently compliant workwear hygiene, while improving employee comfort and convenience.

Audit-compliant workwear: Low-contact distribution and easy access for frequent clothing changes ensure there are no textile hygiene issues during audits.
24/7 availability of hygienically processed workwear: Freshly laundered pants, t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, and sweaters are always available in the right size for each employee, without manual sorting or searching.
Inventory and laundry costs savings: Thanks to full transparency and traceability, the textile inventory was significantly reduced, saving a low five-digit amount annually. Hoarding and losses were eliminated, enabling further inventory optimization.
Frictionless and hygienic uniform changes: Workers can change into clean clothing up to three times during their shift without wasting time, supporting the highest hygiene levels and increasing employee comfort.
Orderly changing rooms: The enclosed dispensing and return units ensure tidy changing areas, reduce manual effort, and prevent unmanageable piles of laundry.
Compliance transparency for managers: Full usage documentation and hygienic processing enable managers to confidently face auditors and meet compliance requirements.
Improved morale: Reliable and easy access to correctly sized clean uniforms reduces stress and wait times, increasing employee satisfaction.