OAL News
Olympus Automation now trading as OAL Group
Effective from Thursday 28th August 2014, Olympus Automation Ltd. will change its trading name to “OAL Group”.
This name change is in response to large international demand for our products and services and better reflects the company’s ability to provide solutions that involve all our engineering capabilities.
While our name is changing, our legal status, office address and telephone contact details will remain the same. The company’s business remains fundamentally unaffected by this change and all contracts with existing customers will remain unaltered, with corresponding obligations and rights assumed under the new trading name.
Moving forward, we look forward to providing the same services that Olympus Automation Ltd. has offered to clients to date and we ask all our stakeholders for their continued support.
From Thursday 28th August, our website will be switching to www.oalgroup.com and email address format to joe.bloggs@oalgroup.com
Steam Infusion shortlisted for FDF Innovation award
Steam Infusion from Olympus Automation (OAL) has been shortlisted for the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Innovation Award based on its ability to deliver significant and innovative change to the food industry.
Steam Infusion is a revolutionary heating and mixing process that uniquely infuses steam into liquid food products in a vacuum. Early adopters of Steam Infusion include Greencore and Larco Foods who have generated significant business benefits from the technology. explains,
“Steam Infusion has allowed us to nearly double our previous throughput rates in sauce production. On top of this our meat sauce quality and consistency has improved dramatically.”
Further research and development is being undertaken in a £1 million UK government funded Nutrition for Life project at the Steam Infusion Test Centre in the National Centre for Food Manufacturing, Holbeach.
The unique Steam Infusion environment has been found to increase the flavour profile of food products in commercial trials indicating salt and other ingredients can be reduced without having a negative impact on flavour. The Nutrition for Life project seeks to provide the scientific understanding of the level and nature of the changes brought about by the steam infusion process and the nutritional advantage to be gained.
OAL will be presenting initial findings from the Nutrition for Life project at the PPMA show 2014 running from 30th September to 2nd October 2014. As well as the OAL team, academics from the University of Lincoln will be on the stand to answer questions on Steam Infusion and the project.
OAL team completes epic cycle ride
When OAL became the lead sponsors for ‘Coast to Coast in a Day 2014’ we didn’t anticipate the enthusiastic response from our employees and customers alike! The gruelling one-day event consists of riders enduring 150 miles of cycling through the mountainous Lake District, the Vale of York, and the Northern Valleys of the North York Moors, finishing in Whitby. Harry Norman, Managing Director at OAL, set the pace completing the ride in a time of 11 hours 49 minutes, with the full results available here. The team were raising money and awareness for the British Heart Foundation, while reflecting our commitment to sustainable solutions.
Inspiring sustainability
Harry has a passion for cycling, and felt the Coast to Coast event was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the sustainable elements of OAL. Harry commented;
“We like to get involved with events that clearly demonstrate how we do things differently as a company. The passion and dedication to complete the Coast to Coast event alongside the fact it is completed on bikes, aligns itself well with the company as we’ve made numerous strong commitments to sustainability. Furthermore, our Steam Infusion cooking technology has the potential to reduce salt from ready meals and many other products, and so it seems fitting raising money for the BHF, given the links of high salt content with heart disease.”
A picture paints a thousand words
See the gallery below for pictures of the guys reaching the top of Hardknott pass, Britain's toughest cycle climb with a height gain of 298m and 30% gradients!
Successful 3D factory walk-through at the MTC
Olympus Automation successfully demonstrated a 3D food factory walk-through at the prestigious Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Coventry. A point cloud scanned from the National Food Manufacturing Centre was imported into the cave, a virtual reality suite at the MTC, allowing users to literally walk around their factory, pictured above.
CAD objects generated in SolidWorks can be dropped into the factory, allowing customers to see how projects will look and work to a far greater detail than ever before. For instance a Steam Infusion System can be dropped into an existing food area so customers can see first hand how it fits and see the significant reduction in system footprint.
For Autocoding, panel placement can be simulated in the cave to optimise usability for shop floor workers, improving efficiency on the shop-floor.
With food manufacturers constantly striving to improve the ergonomic efficiency and health & safety of food areas, virtual reality factories present a great opportunity to accurately visualise and enhance designs and layouts of food factories prior to installation.
Driving exceptional efficiencies in the food industry
Olympus Automation has taken delivery of ten Volvo V40s, Five years into a strategy of running one of the most socially responsible green car fleets (25+) in the Food industry, With a large number of cars needing to be changed due to a combination of age and mileage, after extensive trials the Volvo V40 D2 (88g CO2) was chosen based on an estimated 30% improvement in real world economy and class leading CO2 emissions.
A key driving factor was the best in class safety for both Olympus Automation personnel and the wider community. The cars are all fitted with Volvo's award winning City Safety Technology and additionally the Blind Spot Information System, Lane Keeping Aid and Driver Alert Control.
The net result is an innovative fleet of exceptionally efficient and safe cars that perfectly complement our range of engineering solutions.
Harry Norman, CEO, explains "Company cars continue to be one of largest sources of carbon and improving it by up to 30% is great. Adding the optional safety features mean that we have done as much as we practically can to reduce the risk to our people and the wider community"