KYOTO, JAPAN — Toshiharu Kageyama, mechanical engineer, Ishida, was awarded the Kyoto Inventors Award for developing an 18-head multihead weigher.

Mr. Kageyama developed the equipment in response to the industry’s need for multihead weighers that could match the speed of vertical form fill seal (VFFS) packaging machines while also evenly and consistently feeding to weigh hoppers. His creation of the oval-shaped 18-head multihead weigher solved this issue by rotating the approach route of products to hoppers through the use of vibration.

This technology is now used in bakery and snack plants across the world.

“I am honored to receive this historical award,” said Mr. Kageyama. “It is a great pleasure that the product created from my ideas are satisfying customers’ needs throughout the world.”

Mr. Kageyama is currently developing a new multihead weigher for Ishida that uses artificial intelligence, leading to improved production efficiency.