Founded in 1989 in Tuscany, in Altopascio, the historical city of bread and hospitality, Nt Food is a reality of excellence in the food intolerance market. Today part of the Morato Group, it has four production plants entirely dedicated to the production of gluten-free foodstuffs and is able to offer a wide range of products ranging from bakery products to flour mixtures, from savoury snacks to biscuits and sweet leavened products. With the Nutrifree brand, the company has been able to build an authentic bond with its consumers, distinguishing itself through attention, quality and innovation. Its commitment to the B2B and Private Label world is also constant, thanks to solid partnerships with leading retailers.
Nt Food goes digital: streamlining traceability and control
Via della Galeotta 6/C, Località Tei, 55011 Altopascio (LU), Italy
Via della Galeotta 6/C, Località Tei, 55011 Altopascio (LU), Italy
The challenge
NT Food was seeking to digitalize its production operations by eliminating the reliance on manual documentation sheets, which had become a source of inefficiency, human error, and potential data loss. Ensuring full traceability of raw materials was a critical objective, especially given the company’s focus on gluten-free products and the strict quality standards this entails. A key requirement was to integrate the entire production process—from dough preparation to packaging. Additionally, the company needed to standardize this solution across all four of its facilities, enabling consistent workflows and seamless management.
The solution
To meet NT Food’s requirements, Oripan proposed the implementation of the some modules of the OFS system—an advanced platform designed to orchestrate the entire production process. The system collects and centralizes real-time data from all actors involved in the production workflow—operators, machines, sensors, and logistics systems—ensuring full traceability, transparency, and control.
Tailored implementations based on specific production plant requirements:
PORCARI Plant:
- Inbound and Warehouse Management: Use of Zebra handheld PCs for streamlined logistics and warehouse operations.
- Manual Dosing Management: TouchTower interface for ingredient dosing, traceability, and automatic stock deduction.
- Automated Dosing System Integration: Enables full traceability of ingredients and process steps.
- Dough System Integration: Ensures tracking of the dough preparation process, including bowls traceability.
- Batch Traceability on the Line: Automatic readers on the conveyor belt allow precise tracking of trays throughout the production line.
- PLC Integration: Connection to machine PLCs to log process data and link it to the corresponding batch, fulfilling Industry 4.0 requirements.
- Quality control: in-line quality control to check tin bread height before packaging
- Packaging Management: Covers the entire process from product arrival in the clean cooling room to pallet composition. Includes OriPrint stations for carton and pallet label printing. Marker systems are automatically fed packaging batch and expiry date information for precise imprinting. OFS also manages and tracks the use of first contact and packaging materials.
TEI / PALANDRI Plants:
- Automated Dosing System Integration: Enables full traceability of ingredients and process steps.
- Manual Dosing Management: TouchTower interface for ingredient dosing, traceability, and automatic stock deduction.
- Packaging Management: From marker instruction to label printing with OriPrint.
- PLC Integration: Connection to machine PLCs to log process data and link it to the corresponding batch, fulfilling Industry 4.0 requirements.
BAGNOCAVALLO Plant:
- Manual Dosing Management: MiniTouch interface for ingredient dosing, traceability and automatic stock deduction.
- Process Traceability: Full tracking up to the flowpack packaging stage.
- PLC Integration: Connection to machine PLCs to log process data and link it to the corresponding batch, fulfilling Industry 4.0 requirements.
- Alcohol Traceability in packaging for compliance with legal requirements: Italian Customs Authority mandates traceability of alcohol used in packaging to ensure it is not diverted for other uses.
The impact
With OFS, NT Food is now able to oversee and manage the entire production cycle in a fully integrated manner, from raw material intake to the final product placed on pallets. OFS not only digitizes and standardizes production flows, but also delivers a real-time view of operations, enabling efficient, scalable, and harmonized management across all four company sites.
