Ron Gardiner, lecturer at CAFRE, Loughry Campus, assists Food Technology student Linda Elder prepare sample packaging for an investigative project
Students at Northern Ireland’s College of Agriculture Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) have been testing their packaging performance skills with a Mimaki CF2 flatbed cutter and JV300-160 solvent printer.
Based in the Loughry Campus, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland students study qualifications up to degree level that incorporate modules in food production, product development, food testing and packaging performance.
Ron Gardiner, CAFRE lecturer explained, ‘All the qualifications we provide have a strong industry element, preparing our students for working in the food industry and developing skills through projects that give them direct work and life experience. The recent purchase of a wide-format solvent printer and flatbed cutter is enabling the students who study within our Packaging Centre to experience the complete workflow, from design through to creation of a prototype, and assisted in partnership by local businesses they are often working to a live brief, making their projects all the more valid.’
The investment was made through Belfast-based authorised Mimaki reseller Dennis D Evans. Sales manager Frank Wilson said, ‘It is always rewarding to be involved in a project that assists young people and installing the Mimaki CF2 and JV300 into an environment that is so supportive of learning has been a pleasure.
‘The Mimaki hardware is giving the Loughry Campus the scope to expand its offering, so that students can learn about the structural design of packaging as well as performance. I’ve no doubt the investment that CAFRE has made in Mimaki hardware will facilitate its already innovative learning environment to produce even more highly qualified and uniquely experienced candidates for the food industry.’
