Automation and fermentation

The Italian silo constructor Cepi SpA focuses on automation and the growing interest in fermentation plants on the part of bread bakers.

O utdoor monolithic silos, indoor silos, both made from panels and the patented Trevira silos, and a new metering system for small sized amounts of ingredients that meters from several hoppers into a fixed-position weighing pan, which grant a faster discharge and high precision in dosing, will be the hardware highlights on Cepi’s stand at the iba trade fair in September.

Fermentation plants and automation strategies are the second focal point. According to Sales & Marketing Manager Frida Lega, the company has been building fermentation plants for a long time. Up to now it has been a segment that has rarely taken center stage internationally in relation to customized project planning. According to Lega, it should come to the fore to a greater extent. She says the growing interest in high-quality artisan products on the part of industrial manufacturers beside the rationalization of the production have spurred the demand for fermentation plants. Cepi offers sourdough plants with a variety of cleaning systems. According to the project, they can varies between a pipe recirculation of product itself, or complete CIP technology with tank systems that flushes pipework and vessels with cleaning fluid and clear water. If required, Cepi can also supply a pigging system that removes adhering materials particularly thoroughly, especially from pipework.

Up to now, the Italian company has produced mainly bulk handling systems for the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, including patented antistatic Trevira silos, as well as stainless steel outdoor silos for food powders, with a vibrating cone or fluidized bed for complete extraction of product on the first-in-first-out principle. There are also sugar mills, metering plants for fat and micro-ingredients, and bread, both dried and liquid, or biscuits rework systems for the confectionery and baking industries. Cepi also supplies a flour-cooling system using pre-cooled air blown in silo through its fluidizing bed.

Most of the components and all kind of silos are fabricated in-house. Vertical production integration across all plant systems is currently around 60 %. Around 80% of sales, which reached EUR 25 million in the past year, were

Infinite possibilities

and to Asia. A worldwide sales and service organization has been established.

The company’s own electronic and electrical design department in which eleven programmers and designers work on automation solutions, together with ten designers and assemblers who are responsible for the layout of the electrical systems, should be helpful in this respect. The control system they have developed offers the ability to access and analyze the plant and

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