Dry materials handling project increases production capacity at large doughnut manufacturer
OAL designed, installed and automated a new dry material handling system comprising silos and big bags to increase doughnut production to 50,000 per hour at market leading food manufacturer.
OAL designed, installed and automated a new dry material and liquid handling system comprised of silos, big bags and IBC's to increase doughnut production to 50,000 per hour at market leading food manufacturer with a total project cost of c£870,000.
The new silo designed and installed by OAL at the bakery
Customer
Our customer is one of the largest manufacturers of doughnut and other baked goods in the UK and is a part of an internationally recognised food business.
Challenge
The bakery wanted to improve the handling of both their liquid and dry ingredients and were seeking to:
Minimise the manual handling of ingredients to improve health and safety.
Reduce operating costs associated with ingredient handling.
Improve accuracy of mixes.
The supplier and the solution had to take into consideration:
The bakery operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, therefore it was crucial that the manufacturer trusted their supplier to work to the agreed schedule to ensure that it did not disrupt their everyday operations.
The manufacturer of doughnuts uses multiple dry and liquid materials from various packaging formats, for instance; flour, sugar, yeast and water. The system had to be flexible to work accurately with multiple ingredients of various particle sizes.
The new material handling system was to feed a new batch mixing system with a capacity of 50,000 doughnuts per hour production line.
Solution
Three Big Bag Stations with Sifting
OAL was chosen to supply the automated ingredient handling system based on a comprehensive solution to the ingredient handling system and successful visits to reference sites demonstrating the quality of work, with strong reference to our hygienic design principles. The OAL system is designed to minimise the loss of ingredients through the transfer lines and eliminate the incorrect batching of ingredients. Interesting aspects of the project included:
Silo, big bag & IBC feeds
The ingredient system delivers bulk flour from a silo, concentrates from FIBC's (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) as well as liquids from both IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) and existing plant feeds forming a total of eight ingredient supply points.
Automated ingredient supply points
An HMI and recipe management system make it simple for users to monitor their production line including the ingredient supply points. The flour, powders (FIBC Big Bag Stations) and hand-tips feed a single line that is then split via a diverter valve (PDV100) to supply Mixer 1 and 2 receivers. The receivers then supply the mixers with the powder based ingredients. Each of the liquids has dedicated supply lines to the mixers directly. The control system then automates the flour, powders and liquid additions. When hand-tips are required, the system will prompt the operator for the desired ingredient.
Commissioning
Upon the completion of all installation work, OAL was responsible for ensuring that the plant and system were tested and certified for operation before the project was signed off. To ensure that the system continued to work as required, OAL also offered the manufacturer an engineer on site for two weeks post installation so the initial production could be set up for product trials and validations offering them further peace of mind with their new system.
Results
OAL successfully manufactured, installed and commissioned a dry materials handling system for a large doughnut bakery. OAL worked closely with the project coordinators to ensure that their product and material specification had been met so it was easier to integrate the new system into their current factory set-up. The doughnut production line can now store and transport both dry and liquid-based ingredients more efficiently using OAL’s tried and trusted system.
Larco Foods Success with 9,000 kg Per Hour Steam Infusion Soup Plant
OAL installed a new 9,000 kg per hour Steam Infusion system for Larco Foods soup manufacture, halving production time and increasing the flavour profile of products.
OAL installed a new 9,000 kg per hour Steam Infusion system for Larco Foods soup manufacturer, halving production time and increasing the flavour profile of products.
Customer
Based in Holland, Larco Foods specialise in the production of ready meals and sauces. Their portfolio contains private label products which are supplied to major brand suppliers around the world. The company has sales offices in the UK and Germany, as well as partners in three other EU countries. The company has approximately 280 employees and an annual turnover of €50 million.
Challenge
Larco Foods, founded in 1937, operates in a highly competitive market and wanted to reduce the operational costs and processing time for their soups, sauces and ready meals. Staying true to their company values of traditional and authentic production, the company had to establish a solution to their production time and capacity problems.
“Since purchasing the Steam Infusion system we have reduced the production time of our soups and sauce by more than 50% as well as reducing energy whilst still maintaining our exceptional product quality. ”
Solution
OAL provided a turnkey solution to Larco Foods covering the design, manufacturing, automation and installation of a system to manufacture 9,000 kg of soup per hour. A 3 tonne cooking vessel has two Steam Infusion Vaction™ pumps mounted on lances to enable high speed cooking. The project also included two holding vessels, a CIP system and a recipe control system.
Steam Infusion, is a heating and mixing process which unlike direct steam injection, does not expose products to excess heat temperatures. Steam is accelerated within a Vaction™ unit through a unique nozzle design. As the steam comes into contact with the product it creates a large dispersion zone and partial vacuum due to the Venturi effect. The steam then condenses into the dispersed liquid and flows out as a uniform product. The partial vacuum means the unit acts like a pump, so the product is pushed out of the unit and replaced with product to be heated.
Results
Steam Infusion has reduced the production time of soups and sauces by over 50% and the site can now produce up to 9 tonnes of soup per hour. The products produced using steam infusion have shown an increased flavour profile which opens the doors to the possibility of ingredient reduction driving further savings and healthier products for their customers.
“We have also seen an increase in the flavour profile of our product which will lead us to the possibility of reducing ingredients such as salt, spices and flavour enhancers making our product healthier for our customers.”