SSV Sanitary Drum Motors Reduce Washdown Time & Water Consumption by 50%
MADE M ADE IIN N
USA
APRIL 2021
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MADE IN
USA
(888) 326-1476 • vandergraaf.com/PF
4/1/21 1:48 PM
SSV Sanitary Drum Motors Reduce Washdown Time & Water Consumption by 50%
The most sanitary drive solution for your belt conveyor. Designed for 80,000 hours of operation before maintenance, and with all drive components enclosed inside the drum, the SSV Sanitary Series Drum Motor drives modular, wire mesh, and monolithic thermoplastic conveyor belts without the use of sprockets. The sprocketless SSV Drum Motor with belt profile machined directly onto the drum cuts washdown time by 50%, reducing water consumption and minimizing downtime.
ELIMINATE PRODUCT BUILD-UP ELIMINATE BACTERIAL HARBORAGE
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April 2021
BUILDING A FOOD SAFETY CULTURE EMPOWERMENT TO THE PEOPLE
Automated Control Provides Insight Into Inventory Weigh Cell Technology Boosts Packaging Efficiency Focus on Dry Processing Solutions Tech Update: Motors and Drives 0421_Cover-FINAL.indd 2
4/9/21 1:15 PM
Reduce and Distance Plant Personnel while Boosting Output and Preventing Contamination with automated, enclosed bulk equipment and systems from Flexicon
Automated, sealed BULK-OUT® Discharger-Conveyor Systems replace multiple workers dumping hand-held bags manually, while preventing contamination.
Enclosed Bulk Bag Weigh Batch Systems feed a central weigh hopper mechanically, and remove weighed batches pneumatically, requiring labor only to attach/detach bulk bags.
Bulk Bag Discharging Systems can loosen solidified material and meter it into liquid streams (shown), screeners, size reduction equipment and continuous blenders—automatically.
Dual SWING-DOWN® Bulk Bag Fillers fed by weigh hoppers fill up to 40 bags per hour with only one operator connecting empty bags and one forklift removing full bags.
Flexicon Bulk Bag Filling Lines automatically dispense pallets, fill bulk bags, and disconnect/accumulate filled bags, minimizing operator involvement.
TIP-TITE® Drum/Box Dumpers seal, tip and mate a discharge cone to a gasketed hopper lid, open a slide gate and feed downstream processes— automatically and dust-free.
Flexicon automated equipment and systems can move your bulk materials at higher capacities with fewer personnel, cutting costs while distancing operators from one another. UK AUSTRALIA SOUTH AFRICA CHILE SPAIN FRANCE GERMANY SINGAPORE INDONESIA
+44 +61 +27 +51 +34 +33 +49 +65 +62
(0)1227 374710 (0)7 3879 4180 (0)41 453 1871 2 2415 1286 930 020 509 (0)7 61 36 56 12 173 900 78 76 6778 9225 81 1103 2400
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— Unlock maximum energy savings
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This is the Way
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4/2/20 9:04 3/31/21 9:31 AM AM
APRIL 2021
CONTENTS 35
47 DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Editor Good news abounds for improving food safety.
9 In the News Measure the ‘size of the prize’ via asset reliability.
20 ON THE COVER Food Safety Culture: Empowerment to the People Commitment, collaboration, and communication are essential for building a successful food safety culture. But don’t forget that people at all company levels are the dominant factor in producing high-quality, safe food and beverages.
17 Packaging Technology Extended shelf life is key to Lidl’s latest ready-to-eat line.
41 Plant Floor New Products Take an inside look at the latest machinery and technologies for production facilities.
47 Case Study: GoldRiver Automated control delivers real-time insight into inventory.
50 Case Study: Tree Top Decanter helps optimize fruit juice concentrate process.
54 Tech Perspective Advanced weigh cell technology boosts efficiency in packaging applications.
FEATURES 12 OpX Intel: Manufacturing Health Being in the zone means balancing your technology investment with all the people and teams using that technology. The short-term benefits realized through accelerated performance can achieve a lasting impact by sustaining those gains.
28 Tech Today: Motors and Drives Beyond the advances made to both motors and drives in terms of energy efficiency, safety, cleanability, and more, suppliers emphasize the importance of how they work together in a complete motion system.
DRY PROCESSING SOLUTIONS 35 Case Study: Goya Foods Automated bulk bag dischargers help keep pace with high-speed packaging.
37 Dry Processing Products
www.profoodworld.com
0421-Contents.indd 1
| April 2021 | PROFOOD WORLD
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3/31/21 7:29 AM
ProFood World ISSN 2476-0676
BLEND ROTARY BATCH MIXERS • 0.25 to 600 cu ft (0.01 to 17 cu m) • 100% uniformity in less than 3 minutes • Uniform liquid additions • Ultra-gentle • Complete discharge • Fast sanitizing
EDITORIAL
CONNECT WITH US
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JOYCE FASSL Mobile: 610/547-9814 jfassl@pmmimediagroup.com
@ProFoodWorld
EXECUTIVE EDITOR AARON HAND ahand@pmmimediagroup.com
VEE-CONE BLENDERS
MANAGING EDITOR NATALIE CRAIG ncraig@pmmimediagroup.com
• 1 cup to 200 cu ft (0.5 to 5663 L) • Gentle, 5 to 15 minute cycles • Complete discharge • Ultra-fast sanitizing of smooth internal surfaces
@ProFoodWorld www.linkedin.com/ showcase/profoodworld
NEW PRODUCTS EDITOR MORGAN SMITH msmith@pmmimediagroup.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS MELISSA GRIFFEN, STEPHEN PERRY, STEPHEN SCHLEGEL, JEFFREY BARACH
B U S I N E S S S TA F F PUBLISHER PATRICK YOUNG 610/251-2579 pyoung@pmmimediagroup.com
RIBBON BLENDERS • 1.0 to 1,150 cu ft (0.03 to 32.56 cu m) • Blends dry bulk to pastes • Shear reduces agglomerates • Low cost
BRAND OPERATIONS MANAGER CLAUDIA SMITH 312/222-1345 csmith@pmmimediagroup.com
ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR DAVID BACHO
REDUCE
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR KATHY TRAVIS
AU D I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O GY SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL AND DATA
LUMP BREAKERS
DAVID NEWCORN
• Throat widths 12 to 48 in. (30.5 to 122 cm) • Bed screens 1/32 to 2 1/2 in. (0.79 to 64 mm) • Quick screen cleaning, inspection, removal
SENIOR DIRECTOR, DIGITAL AND DATA ELIZABETH KACHORIS DIRECTOR, WEBSITE PRODUCT MANAGEMENT JEN KREPELKA SENIOR DATA ANALYST LAUREN SANZ
PUBLISHING PRESIDENT JOSEPH ANGEL PUBLISHER PATRICK YOUNG VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT AND BRAND STRATEGY JIM CHRZAN SENIOR CONTENT STRATEGIST KIM OVERSTREET DIRECTOR, MARKETING SHARON TAYLOR SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER AMBER MILLER EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR JANET FABIANO
CLASSIFYING CUTTERS • Throat widths 10 to 72 in. (25 to 183 cm) • Bed screens 1/32 to 2 1/2 in. (0.79 to 64 mm) • Precise sizes with minimum fines
PIN MILLS
ADVE R TI S I N G PRODUCTION MANAGER GEORGE SHURTLEFF SENIOR DIRECTOR, CLIENT SUCCESS AND MEDIA OPERATIONS KELLY GREEBY DIRECTOR, MEDIA INNOVATION SARAH LOEFFLER SENIOR MANAGER, PRODUCT AND REVENUE STRATEGY ALICIA PETTIGREW
• Controlled sizing down to 400 mesh • No screens, hammers, knives or rolls • Coarse & fine grinding of friable materials • Conditioning of cellulose fibers
ADVE R TI S I N G SALE S PUBLISHER PATRICK YOUNG pyoung@pmmimediagroup.com • 610/251-2579 REGIONAL SALES MANAGER BRIAN J. GRONOWSKI bgronowski@pmmimediagroup.com • 440/564-5920 REGIONAL SALES MANAGER DANIEL SMITH dsmith@pmmimediagroup.com • 312/205-7935 VICE PRESIDENT, SALES WENDY SAWTELL wsawtell@pmmimediagroup.com • 847/784-0520 REGIONAL MANAGER RICKY ANGEL rangel@pmmimediagroup.com • 630/805-3892 REGIONAL MANAGER LEO GUENTHER guenther@packworld.com • 904/377-7865 REGIONAL MANAGER JIM POWERS jpowers@automationworld.com • 312/925-7793 REGIONAL MANAGER CHRISTINE J. SMALLWOOD csmallwood@pmmimediagroup.com • 770/664-4600 PUBLISHER, AUTOMATION WORLD KURT BELISLE kbelisle@pmmimediagroup.com • 815/549-1034 PUBLISHER, HEALTHCARE PACKAGING LIZ TIERNEY tierney@packworld.com • 815/861-2992 PUBLISHER, OEM MAGAZINE JIM CHRZAN jchrzan@pmmimediagroup.com • 847/830-2915
COMPARE Only at Munson can you test these and 14 other blending and size reduction machines side-by-side using your material—ensuring you of top efficiency at the lowest cost.
ProFood World • PMMI Media Group 401 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: 312/222-1010 • Fax: 312/222-1310 Email: info@pmmimediagroup.com • Web: www.profoodworld.com
1-800-944-6644 info@munsonmachinery.com WWW.MUNSONMACHINERY.COM
PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies 12930 Worldgate Drive, Suite 200, Herndon, VA 20170 Phone: 571/612-3200 • Fax: 703/243-8556 • Web: www.pmmi.org Staff at PMMI Media Group can be contacted at info@pmmimediagroup.com.
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JJ-0551
©2021 Munson Machinery Co., Inc. MUNSON® is a registered trademark of Munson Machinery Co., Inc.
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| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
3/31/21 7:35 AM
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FROM THE EDITOR JOYCE FASSL | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Good News All Around on Food Safety There’s one caveat: A qualified and experienced workforce that has remained elusive over the past two decades is one of the greatest challenges in creating your food safety culture.
W
hile the pandemic has caused a lot of challenges and shifting priorities for the food and beverage industry, one front burner matter is constant, and that’s food safety. As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ushers in its New Era of Food Safety, some of its main intents are to increase digitalization of traceability and modernize and create food safety cultures within each processing plant. The food safety leaders I spoke with for this month’s cover story are committed to producing the highest quality and safe foods, while training and empowering their staffs to do the same. This is certainly not a new approach. The difference is now processors will be rated on how well they create a food safety culture. But here lies the rub. A qualified and experienced workforce has remained elusive over the past two decades. One bit of good news is that the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has become The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Coalition of Action on Food Safety. The coalition recently announced its goal to operate with more agility and increased transparency. It will be led by CGF board members Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International, and Danny Wegman, chairman of Wegmans Food Markets. The coalition’s aim is to address food safety systems in supply chains, help raise the bar on food safety globally, strengthen and harmonize food safety systems to feed a growing global population, and develop markets that can deliver food safely worldwide. As our industry unites to produce safe, high-quality food and beverages, here’s hoping 2021 will also be the year our entire planet becomes a safer place, free of COVID-19. Some additional good news is that PMMI is gearing up for the safe return of PACK EXPO Las Vegas on Sept. 27-29, including the return of The Processing Zone. Attendee registration opens in May. Visit packexpolasvegas.com for more information.
jfassl@pmmimediagroup.com
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
CHRISTINE BENSE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Ventura Coastal HENDRIK EYSELEE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, CHEESE AND DAIRY The Kraft Heinz Company GREG FLICKINGER SENIOR VP, OPERATIONS Green Thumb Industries Inc. JOHN HILKER DIRECTOR OF MANUFACTURING Blommer Chocolate Company VINCE NASTI VP, OPERATIONS Nation Pizza & Foods JIM PRUNESTI VP, ENGINEERING Conagra Brands LISA RATHBURN VP, ENGINEERING T. Marzetti MARK SHAYE VP, ENGINEERING Ken’s Foods TONY VANDENOEVER DIRECTOR, SUPPLY CHAIN ENGINEERING PepsiCo DIANE WOLF FORMER VP OF ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS Kraft Foods BROOKE WYNN SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY Smithfield Foods JOE ZEMBAS DIRECTOR, ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES The J.M. Smucker Company
| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
3/31/21 7:31 AM
YOUR RECIPE AUTOMATED TO PERFECTION. Global resources that deliver. shickesteve.com
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NEWS
IN THE
Measure the ‘Size of the Prize’ via Asset Reliability
A
SSET RELIABILITY is the focus on planned and unplanned downtime reduction—or, put another way, “Is the machine doing what it is supposed to do, when it is supposed to do it?” The OpX Leadership Network, in conjunction with PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, and the FSO Institute, recently released a work product called “Asset Reliability Roadmap for the Consumer Products Industry,” created to assist with calculating asset reliability and improving communications between CPGs and OEMs during this process. The work product focuses on the relationship between overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and three key performance indicators (KPIs)
for asset reliability: people, operating, and financial. It provides an asset reliability “roadmap,” as well as a calculator, to help quantify the total value of asset reliability to an organization by determining missed opportunities, in addition to the potential value gained by improving the reliability of a line and reducing unplanned downtime. As the report states, seeing maintenance as more than just a cost of doing business but rather a tool in meeting desired and expected performance in the asset and financial expectations is key to seeing positive and effective results in profitability and requires ownership from all levels in an organization. Download this free OpX work product at pfwgo.to/OpXAsset.
MWC, Kraft Heinz, CTI Foods Win Manufacturing Innovation Awards ProFood World will honor the winners of the fifth annual Manufacturing Innovation Awards at PACK EXPO Las Vegas in September 2021. The awards recognize outstanding food and beverage processing and packaging innovation projects involving greenfield plants, expansions and renovations, or line upgrades. The 2021 winners include MWC’s new cheese and whey facility in St. Johns, Mich.; an expansion and modernization project at Kraft Heinz’s Wausau, Wis., plant; and filled taco line robotic innovations for CTI Foods, based in Saginaw, Texas.
T. Marzetti to Expand Kentucky Plant Salad dressing and sauce producer T. Marzetti is investing $133 million to add 184,500 sq ft of manufacturing space to its Horse Cave, Ky., operation, purchase new equipment, add eight new processing kitchens, and create several packaging lines. Expected to be completed by July 2022, the expansion will create 220 full-time jobs.
Kraft Heinz Uses Recycled Packaging as Roofing Material
IMAGE COURTESY OF PMMI’S OPX LEADERSHIP NETWORK
This graphic provides a more traditional continuous improvement model regarding the asset reliability journey. It is important to note the critical value of engaging stakeholders from all relevant functions.
Kraft Heinz completed a pilot project, installing roofing material made from post-consumer flexible plastic at its plants in Beaver Dam, Wis., and Holland, Mich. Installed late last year, the recycled roofing materials were comprised of 4- by 8-ft boards, 94% of each made of post-consumer recycled plastic and fiber. If the recycled materials perform as well or better than standard building materials, the company will consider standardizing their use in the future.
www.profoodworld.com
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IN THE NEWS
The Processing Zone Returns to PACK EXPO
P
ACK EXPO LAS VEGAS 2021 (Sept. 27-29, 2021, Las Vegas Convention Center) will feature the return of the Processing Zone and solutions from food processing/systems, food safety, engineering, design and construction services, and more. Attendees from industries such as baking and snack, beverage, meat and poultry, dairy, and fruit and vegetable can once again start their search for front-of-the-line processing solutions—while continuing to solve their packaging challenges. The Processing Zone will showcase operationsimproving and newly unveiled technologies for attendees to assess and compare solutions for current projects while inspiring future projects, all in one trip. Walking the aisles, connecting with colleagues, and meeting new people offer attendees the opportunity to discover solutions they didn’t even know they needed. Manufacturing’s essential role during the pandemic shed a spotlight on new technological needs,
0421_IntheNews.indd 10
which the packaging and processing industry rose up to meet. These improvements and advancements in equipment and technology will continue to evolve. As the most comprehensive packaging and processing event in the world in 2021, PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO will lead the way in bringing the packaging and processing community together again at a safe and productive event for all participants. Attendee registration opens in May. In the meantime, visit packexpolasvegas.com for more information.
3/31/21 7:40 AM
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OPX INTEL: MANUFACTURING HEALTH STEPHEN C. SCHLEGEL
| CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER, FSO INSTITUTE
The Technology Balancing Act of Staying in the Zone Being in the zone means balancing your technology investment with all the people and teams using that technology. The short-term benefits realized through accelerated performance can achieve a lasting impact by sustaining those gains.
A
CCORDING TO SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, being in the zone is a state of supreme focus that helps athletes in all sports perform at their peak potential. This widely accepted view for athletes is equally applicable to the food and beverage industry. A recent FSO Institute survey on technology in food and beverage manufacturing supports this notion. This survey sought to identify the correlation between a company’s level of technological maturity and the technology adoption rate of its users. As you will see in the charts below, a company can compare its results to the FSO industry average for each of the 12 Dimensions of Manufacturing Health. This data can be useful for developing appropriate improvement plans. A few observations of the FSO industry average include: • The level of technology in worker safety, product safety, and manufacturing performance reflects the reported investments in recent years.
• The use of the technology tools provided to the workforce generally reflects an alignment to the investments. • The upside opportunity for our industry is that most dimensions recorded to be midway on the scale. Achieving the desired state of being in the zone requires a significant balancing act of new technology investments with the worker skills required to use that technology. While the latest technology investments promise greater productivity and effectiveness, the adoption rate of technology relies on a workforce that is skilled enough to at least manage, let alone be aligned, with its predictive capabilities.
Level of Technology
Level of Use
12 Dimensions of Manufacturing Health To enable an entirely new perspective, consider how a company employs technology through the lens of FSO’s 12 Dimensions of Manufacturing Health. What follows are insights from industry leaders, sharing how they are using technology to accelerate performance at their companies.
Engagement
Engagement Quality
Packaging
Asset reliability
Worker safety
Current FSO industry average Company’s score
Quality
Performance
Technology
Facilities
CapEx
Product safety
Sustainability Supply chain
Performance
Packaging
Asset reliability
Technology
Worker safety
Facilities
CapEx
Product safety
Sustainability Supply chain CHARTS COURTESY OF FSO INSTITUTE
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PROFOOD WORLD
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| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
3/31/21 7:44 AM
FEATURED TOPIC AUTOMATION SYSTEMS PROMOTE SAFETY AND IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
F
ood processing plants, warehouses, and distribution centers see the value in robotics and automation and are expected to invest $14.3 billion by 2025 in automation and technology. Driving this spend is the need to address a shrinking labor force, accommodate safer working conditions in a postCOVID world, and a desire to decrease employees’ exposure to repetitive tasks and harsh environments. “Management teams have seen an overall attendance increase when an effort is made to invest in equipment that helps employees with the daily work at hand, by giving employees more control over the line performance, which in turn, increases output and performance,” says Mark Livesay, vice president, Automated Facilities for ESI Group USA. Below we’ve highlighted automation systems that plant and warehouse management may consider to reduce risks, decrease picking errors, and increase safety.
Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems
Storage solutions on the floor can be improved without human intervention with the addition of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS). Food manufacturers, processors, and distributors are finding these systems critical for tracking a product’s status and improving turnaround times. When choosing an AS/RS, first a building type needs to be determined: Conventional (up to 50 ft. tall) or Rack Supported (up to 150 ft. tall). There are three types of AS/RS systems: • One-to three-pallet deep system with multiple storage
Courtesy of NM Photos.
retrieval machine (SRM) aisles; • Deep-lane system (stores up to 12 pallets deep on either side of the aisle); • Pallet shuttle system serviced by elevators located in the end of aisle run-out area. Facility managers also need to decide what type of order picking is desired: • Pick-to-belt or a pick to pallet/cart system: This involves the product being manually picked and the product transported to a palletizer. • Layer picking: A pallet is automatically brought down by the AS/RS and conveyed into a layer picking area where a gantry robot picks a layer off the pallet and builds a mixed pallet with different layers of product. • Case picking: Individual cases are stored in a mini-load AS/RS or a multi-shuttle (as seen in the photo) where individual cases are picked and conveyed to a palletizer.
Food automation market to reach $29.4 billion by 2027 60% of companies use technology to support workforce Tyson Foods invested $215 million in robotics and automation over 5 years ESI Front.indd 1
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There are approximately 13 major AS/RS equipment manufacturers in the US (see sidebar). The working environment and type of project defines which AS/RS company is the best fit for an operation. ESI Group USA lays out the general project parameters, lets the AS/RS supplier propose its solution, and reviews the options with the customer, discussing the pros and cons of the system design and equipment. Choices are narrowed down based on customer input and the supplier’s experience with the application.
Automated Guided Vehicle Systems
Many warehouses have replaced traditional forklifts with automated guided vehicle systems (AGVS) to perform tasks previously performed by multiple employees, such as unloading and loading trucks and transporting large items across warehouse floors. AGVS can also perform operations in harsh conditions. For these reasons, AGVS use is becoming more accepted. There are ba-
sically two types of AGVS: the forklift type that stores and retrieves product on multiple levels and pallet movers where the product is either conveyed onto or off the AGVS, or the pallet is placed onto a cart and the pallet is towed to the desired location.
Robotics
In an effort to reduce time spent on redundant tasks or address workforce shortages, robotics and automation are great options. Successful robotics implementation ensures that the workforce understands that the technology is working alongside them, not replacing them. As an example, autonomous scrubbers automatically clean and scrub floors, and are designed to work safely and efficiently alongside employees. “There is no question that more food processing facilities and distribution centers are incorporating automation to take advantage of all its benefits and still keep food safety at the forefront,” says Livesay.
LEADING AS/RS MANUFACTURERS: Automha Dematic Dambach Daifuku Wynright Electric 80 LTW Murata SSI Schaefer Stoecklin Swisslog System Logistics Via Store Westfalia
FEATURED PROJECT
THE ONLY PLACE TO GO IS UP
R
eyes Holdings, L.L.C., the parent company of Great Lakes Coca Cola, is expanding production and needs additional finished product storage at its existing distribution center in Alsip, Illinois. The only place to add storage space was on a parcel of land between two existing production and storage buildings. Based on the site constraints and storage requirements, it was determined to build “up” and implement an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS). After considering a few options, the Automha AS/RS was chosen because it offered the most storage and throughput capacity using a deeplane pallet shuttle with full pallet pick, explains Mark Livesay, vice president, Automated Facilities for ESI Group USA. Constructing the AS/RS involves a 95-ft. tall rack-supported structure, roof decking, and insulated metal wall panels. The new beverage storage facility is approximately
CONTACT ESI Group: ESI Front.indd 1
65,000-70,000 sq. ft. The AS/RS will move 2-liter filled plastic bottles stacked on plastic pallets shrink wrapped on four sides with open gridded crates.
Curtis Waltz / aerialscapes.com
Find us at an event: esigroupusa.com/about-esi/events/
4/1/21 1:57 PM
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Manufacturing Performance Dimension
FSO Institute: How are you using technology to manage production schedules and improve throughput performance? As leaders, we are obligated to enable our people and, as a result, our teams, with the capability to take true and meaningful action. Along with supporting the development of everyone’s skills, we must enable our teams with the authority to make decisions and address opportunities. Unfortunately, the combination of a comprehensive set of skills combined with the ability to make decisions is not enough. To make a meaningful impact on the organization, our teams must also have the resources to take action. The resources of today are centered in technology— technology in the form of tools, data, and analytics. Technology is the great enabler, accelerating results and cementing sustainment, when [it is] placed on a solid foundation of empowered and skilled teams. —Greg Flickinger, SVP Operations & Supply Chain, Green Thumb Industries
2
Quality Dimension
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Workforce Engagement Dimension
FSO Institute: How do you accelerate the adoption and use of new technology? Adoption of technology requires workforce engagement. No project big or small happens without an engaged workforce, especially when it comes to technology. Some studies show a 60% failure rate when placing technology without an engaged workforce. If the end users are not well trained and do not understand the why behind the automation you have added to their day, they will simply revert to the way of doing work that they know. The company ends up spending time and money with no real benefit, because the technology will not get used. —Bob Gates, P.E., Sr. Director, GE Digital
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Technology Dimension
FSO Institute: What observations can you share regarding the roles of OT and IT, and how are they changing?
IAF continues to refine and improve production to specification through technology. Recent additions of benchtop and production tools have driven our product quality to a new level. The introduction of a desktop refractometer in the production area has replaced handheld units to measure Brix, a key processing parameter, to a very precise and repeatable level. In addition, the routine use of a titrator to measure moisture percentages in all our products and the introduction of a water activity meter have improved our post-production quality checks and provide feedback for process improvements. In 2021, IAF plans to add a tensiometer to our sensory protocol for gummies to accurately measure mouthfeel in conjunction with actual taste and texture sampling.
I believe that OT and IT will be nondistinctions in a decade, as the two worlds continue to merge. For example, years ago, when you were developing a maintenance program, you instructed the owner to look at the ‘odometer’ and determine what PMs were appropriate to perform. You did the work of creating the maintenance plan in an IT system, because that’s where you could transcribe your thoughts and communicate them to others. The OT system tracked the odometer, but only communicated it or visualized it locally. With the convergence of the technologies with the OT and IT worlds, we continue to get more efficient, so that today, the machine communicates the ‘odometer’ to the maintenance planning system, and the maintenance system pushes the information to do the maintenance [parts, procedures, diagrams, etc.] to the plant floor. As the convergence of technologies [Ethernet communication, database management, switches, routers, and security] continues, the distinction of the two separate worlds will continue to disappear. It will become a distinction without a difference.
—Scott Spencer, President and COO, Island Abbey Food Science
—Joe Zembas, Sr. Manager, Reliability Engineering, J.M. Smucker
FSO Institute: How are you using technology in your quality functions to manage and verify specification compliance?
www.profoodworld.com
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OPX INTEL: MANUFACTURING HEALTH
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Asset Reliability Dimension
FSO Institute: How are you using technology to automate the reporting of critical asset reliability issues in your plants? Using solid data collected from the operational conditions on an asset or set of connected assets to analyze opportunities allows us to make data-based decisions, which lead to high efficiencies and profitability. Our objective for each plant is to assemble a standardized technology package, which can collect the data from the plant floor network, aggregate the data for isolating key issues, engage the team to conduct root cause analysis, implement the corrective actions and track results, and report the outcomes into our care strategy network, so it can be shared across all plants. —Mark Hanley, CMRP, Sr. Corporate Asset Reliability Manager, Land O’Lakes
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Supply Chain Dimension
FSO Institute: How are you using technology to inform those in the supply chain of replenishment requirements? We provide manufacturers with the ability to connect their supply chain end to end by leveraging data and analytics that enable visibility and data-driven decision-making. We use state-of-the-art technology and science to provide better planning and execution from demand forecasting, network, and inventory optimization to scheduling solutions that incorporate production and logistical constraints and rewards. —Dayana Cope, Director, Simulation and Data Science Practice, Engineering USA
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Product Safety Dimension
FSO Institute: How are you using technology to enable your teams to do root cause tracking on product safety? At Blommer Chocolate, we have moved the production floor paperwork to an electronic database.
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Operators use a tablet to enter this data real time. When a critical result is outside criteria limits, an immediate alert is sent via text, email, and even to the monitors around the plant, to signal attention is needed now. A team converges on the location to assess what just happened and can take instant steps to address it. —John Hilker, Director of Manufacturing, Blommer Chocolate
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Worker Safety Dimension
FSO Institute: How are you using technology to manage and report on worker safety compliance? We use EHS [environmental, health, and safety] software technology to track and trend performance companywide. We leverage that information to further focus on enhancements made to our sites that will decrease the possibility of incidents. As we move forward, we are looking at predictive-based safety analytics and wearable technology to help us better manage EHS and ergonomic compliance, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. —Xavier Aguilera, Director of Corporate EHS, Bumble Bee Seafoods
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Packaging Dimension
FSO Institute: From a technology provider perspective, how are CPGs using technology in packaging and new product introductions? Timely product introduction means first to market and addressing product cost erosions. CPG customers are utilizing automation to help their teams standardize new workflows for product setup and changeovers, allow faster time to market, and provide delivery to customer shelves in less time. When issues do occur, CPG companies are using the more timely and accurate reporting of the key metrics most critical to their operations. With this drilled-down ability, they are eliminating repeatable issues and developing more reliable supply for their customers. —Bob Gates, P.E., Sr. Director, GE Digital
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scheduling decisions autonomously with the objective of maximizing a reward function.
CapEx and Facilities Dimension
FSO Institute: How are you using technology to enhance communication during capital projects? After creating an expectation about a virtual FAT during preliminary discussions with an OEM, we write it into the purchase order. Before fabrication is complete, we create a list of items to be tested or demonstrated, such as pictures, dimensions, HMI screens, interlocks, induced failure/ recovery, video clips of important machine actions, machine guarding, and hygienic design. All of this is uploaded to the cloud, so it can be reviewed in advance. Then, we have the virtual FAT by Zoom, and it goes very quickly; outstanding items are added to a punch list. —David Drum, Global Engineering, Kellogg
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Sustainability Dimension
FSO Institute: How are you using technology to facilitate the automation of sustainability reports?
—Dayana Cope, Director, Simulation and Data Science Practice, Engineering USA Being in the zone means being in balance with your level of technology investment and all the people and teams using the technology. Think of your favorite athlete. What is his or her journey to prepare for the zone, perform while in it, and do it repeatedly? It is a journey, just as it is for food manufacturers. To begin your journey of getting into the zone, see the free technology survey for food and beverage manufacturers at pfwgo.to/FSOSurveys.
ABOUT THE OPX INTEL SERIES OF ARTICLES PMMI’s OpX Leadership Network has produced more than 20 manufacturing process-improvement documents for CPGs and OEMs. The FSO Institute has facilitated the adoption and implementation of these documents, especially for food and beverage manufacturers. This series of articles shows how CPGs are using OpX and FSO documents to improve their overall manufacturing health and collaboration with OEMs and other suppliers. Learn more at www.opxleadershipnetwork.org and www.fsoinstitute.com.
Technology for gathering sustainability data has advanced tremendously over the past few years. Automation and cloud solutions have made the collection and analysis of accurate data less challenging, allowing [us] time to work on advancing environmental progress. —Amber Brovak, Sr. Manager, Global Safety Operations, Church & Dwight
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Manufacturing Performance Dimension
FSO Institute: From a technology provider perspective, how are CPGs using technology to manage production schedules and improve throughput performance? We utilize data and technology to help manufacturers become less reactive and more predictive to how their systems perform. By leveraging descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, we give manufacturers the tools they need to understand and manage their performance in real time. Using machine learning technology, we help them predict yield and quality, while providing indications of how they should intervene to make sure that their performance is within an acceptable standard. In addition, by leveraging reinforcement learning and discrete event simulation, we enable manufacturers to implement intelligent, effective production scheduling agents that can make www.profoodworld.com
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PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY MATT REYNOLDS | EDITOR, PACKAGING WORLD
Extended Shelf Life Is Key to Lidl’s Latest RTE Line Using a process-in-pack technology, the German grocery giant added shelf life to ready-to-eat meals that will extend their market range.
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ERMAN GROCERY GIANT Lidl recently launched three ready-to-eat (RTE) meals made with a refrigeration technology that provides a much longer shelf life. Released under its Chef’s Select brand into the Swedish market, the three meals—Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes, Sausage Stroganoff, and Pasta Pomodoro—are made by long-time Lidl partner Smålandskräftan, a Swedish cookery and private-label food producer. Smålandskräftan employed the Micvac method on the ready-made meal applications—a patented method that affords the products a far longer shelf life compared to other ready meals, without compromising on taste, nutrition, or consistency, according to Micvac. The meals are produced and chilled, not frozen, and only require warming by the consumer. “Our ready meals produced with the Micvac method taste as if they’re homemade. We have great faith in this launch, and are also planning to introduce the dishes abroad,” says Alexander Weiss, purchasing manager for food at Lidl. “We were very interested when Smålandskräftan told us about the technology, and the products have not let us down.”
The Micvac method The meals are produced with a microwave application that cooks food in its package. On the packaging and processing line, thermoformed polypropylene (PP) trays supplied by Faerch plast are denested and conveyed to a depositor that fills them with the raw ingredients. Next, the trays are lidded with a PP/PA laminate film. The lidding material is sealed to the tray in a sealing machine from G.Mondini. A specialized valve that allows steam to vent from the package is then applied to the lidding material of each sealed tray, but the mechanism only allows venting to occur after a pre-determined pressure is reached during the next process, which is a microwave cook. When the cooking process is finishing, and the pressure inside the sealed tray reduces, the valve recloses to maintain a barrier for the cooked food. The finished, cooked tray maintains a negative internal pressure. Secondary packaging involves a printed
PHOTO COURTESY OF LIDL
Lidl launched three ready-to-eat meals made with the Micvac method, which provides a much longer shelf life than other ready meals.
paperboard bellyband, which is automatically applied after the tray is sufficiently cooled. Compared with many other ways of making ready meals, Micvac says its method better preserves vitamins and flavor. This means that the artificial E-number additives can be minimized. “For me as a purchaser, it’s extremely important that the products have as long a shelf life as possible without affecting the quality, and the Micvac method makes sure they stay fresh for a very long time,” Weiss says. “Since they were only recently launched, we don’t have any statistics yet, but we believe they’ll reduce food waste.”
Plans for an international launch The products have been well-received on the market since their launch in November 2020, Lidl reports, and the ambition is to launch them on additional European markets moving forward. “I truly believe in the Micvac method, and in the longer term, I hope we can export these dishes to other Lidl countries,” Weiss says. “Taste is of course subjective, but many find that dishes made using the Micvac technology taste delicious—as if they were homemade, even. We have long been looking to develop the ready-meal segment, and with this method we can do so with products of high nutritional content, which also taste great and look appetizing.” Micvac www.micvac.com
Faerch plast www.faerch.com
G.Mondini www.gmondini.com
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PACKAGING TECHOLOGY
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PHOTO COURTESY OF PULPAC
The PulPac Tech Center in Gothenburg, Sweden, shows off trays made from its Dry Molded Fiber technology.
that provides up to a 90% lower CO2 footprint at the same or lower cost as plastic. It enables high-speed manufacturing and can replace most packaging and single-use products presently made of plastics, including soda and coffee cup lids, meat trays, food carry-out containers, and bottles. The partnership will focus on accelerating the replacement of single-use plastics with packaging that is both sustainable and commercially competitive. The technology is licensed to packaging manufacturers and brands setting up their own production. Today, the partnership has cooperation and licensing agreements with a number of selected customers, including several large global brands operating in food and beverage, beauty, toys, healthcare, and other industries. PulPac www.pulpac.com
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FOOD SAFETY CULTURE JOYCE FASSL |
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Commitment, collaboration, and communication are essential for building a successful food safety culture. But don’t forget that people at all company levels are the dominant factor in producing high-quality, safe food and beverages.
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As a director of quality for Conagra Brands, Shawn Fear says a food safety culture is built upon a combination of employee engagement, effective training programs, adherence to documented policies and procedures, and a continuous improvement mentality. “We have a comprehensive, enterprise-wide approach that is measurable and enables us to make high-quality, safe food each and every day,” Fear states. “This requires a great deal of commitment and collaboration by teams across the enterprise that are involved with product development, sourcing, production, packaging, warehousing, distribution, and customer service.” Food safety and quality are foundational to the trust customers and consumers have in Smithfield Foods and its brands, according to Warren Dorsa, senior vice president of food safety and quality assurance at the company. “We employ rigorous systems and exacting procedures, including more than 40 internal policies, to ensure we continue to deliver consistently high-quality products,” he states. The meat processor’s quality-assurance plan is built on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Smithfield moved quickly at the outset of COVID-19 to implement protocols mitigating the risk of viral transmission by employing barriers, masks and shields, and enhanced air purification systems across its facilities.
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ACK IN THE 19TH CENTURY, author Alexander Dumas empowered “The Three Musketeers” with the famous mantra: “All for one and one for all, united we stand, divided we fall.” The same philosophy can be applied to building a food safety culture. Unless your facility has buy-in from all staff levels, you may have a tough time getting your food safety culture program off the drawing board. During a recent webinar, Liliana Casal-Wardle, senior director for food safety and supply chain risk management at The Acheson Group (TAG), discussed the 10-year strategy from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enhance the capabilities of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) through its New Era of Smarter Food Safety program. Casal-Wardle reviewed the four core elements of the FDA’s new strategy: • Tech-enabled traceability • Smarter tools and approaches for prevention and outbreak response • New business models and retail modernization • Food safety culture “It’s a big group of people that have the same shared values, beliefs, and norms,” Casal-Wardle said about building a food safety culture. “People feed into those values and create a cohesive model that has a little bit of the input of each component, of each person, and of each individual as part of the culture.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF SMITHFIELD FOODS
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FOOD SAFETY CULTURE
Point (HACCP) management framework and is a living document that is continually updated to adhere to best practices and industry innovations. Smithfield also continuously monitors U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety and quality regulations, and in-house labs inform and lead the implementation of any new test requirements. The company has Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification, which drives continuous improvement in food safety management systems internationally, adds Dorsa. GFSI certification also includes audits conducted by Safe Quality Food (SQF), Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards (BRCGS), International Food Standards (IFS), and ISO 22000. In addition, Smithfield enhances its food safety culture by relying on its suppliers to provide high-quality ingredients. All Smithfield vendors must comply with GFSI and HACCP requirements.
Empowerment, measurement, and recognition When employees have a voice, they become part of the solution, according to Joni Fagan, vice president of quality control at Ken’s Foods. “Food safety is everyone’s responsibility,” she says. “This is included in job descriptions, training, and specific job tasks. Expectations of food safety culture become behaviors.” Leadership buy-in and continuous support of the food safety culture is mandatory, Fagan PHOTO COURTESY OF GTI adds. Ken’s Foods fosters an environment of collaboration, where staff listens and enlists An automatic handwashing station and signage remind GTI staff the help and knowledge of the workforce. that a food safety culture is mandatory. In the cannabis edibles industry, it’s important to build a food safety culture that at a Florida facility, has implemented a quality and the leadership team embraces by showing and prefood safety presentation board, where the company senting expectations themselves before rolling out presents a new food safety topic each month. “Last the program to hourly workers, says Wendy Uhls, month, we refreshed the GMP [good manufacturing quality and compliance manager for Green Thumb practice] policy for the whole plant and put a copy of Industries (GTI). “We’ve actually implemented some the GMP policy up with the training that we had done new roles recently, where hourly workers own more in PowerPoint,” she explains. “Every month, we’ll do of the quality piece, are able to provide feedback up a different topic just to get the team involved.” through the chain, and own that space,” she says. Smithfield invites employees to “audit” the prodUhls’ facility also uses a “best buds” program. ucts they’ve helped produce. Cross-functional teams “Whenever we catch somebody doing an awesome of staff representing all levels of the organization job of complying or just being a supportive member are invited to appraise products daily. This program of the team, we provide coins that employees can colunderscores how critical safety and quality stanlect over time,” she says. Depending on the number dards are and instills a sense of employee ownership. of coins they acquire, employees can choose from an Through its “Raise Your Hand” campaign, array of goodies, such as hats, shirts, and GTI products. Smithfield empowers employees to stop production GTI’s Janet Sullivan, quality compliance manager 22
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| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
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FOOD SAFETY CULTURE
The culture paradigm TASK-BASED
ROLE-BASED
Matrix driven by work Collaborative Equal visibility among all departments QA/QC is the gatekeeper Solutions-driven Findings seen as opportunities Equal ownership Empowered employees “It’s our problem”
Hierarchy/driven by title Conflicting agendas Unbalanced representations and diminished capacity QA/QC is the police officer Problem-focused Blame placed on findings No ownership of tasks Powerless employees “It’s not my problem”
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE ACHESON GROUP (TAG) AND SAFETYCHAIN. FSMA FRIDAYS, “BUILDING AN AUDITABLE, MEASURABLE FOOD SAFETY CULTURE.”
if they see anything throughout the day that affects food safety or quality. The company recognizes employees who identify potential product safety or quality hazards. At Smithfield, employees learn from day one that food safety is non-negotiable. The company’s
goal is zero product recalls, which it achieved in 2019. As a vertically integrated company, Smithfield is collaborating with FoodLogiQ’s Food Industry Blockchain Consortium and the IBM Food Trust to drive customer visibility into food safety and quality assurance, and to increase transparency. GTI measures customer complaints using key performance indicator (KPI) boards. “We’re looking at customer complaints, third-party audits, and our Department of Health inspections, so we’re taking all of those, and we try to present those every month,” says Sullivan. “We don’t want to have any findings from the Department of Health, and we don’t want to have any GMP findings. We want to make sure that our customers are happy, so we try to get customer complaints down to zero.” Currently, GTI facilities are preparing for SQF certification. Learn more about GTI’s food safety culture in the sidebar below. According to Casal-Wardle, measuring the culture is not about checking your critical control points and then thinking you’re finished. “That’s great,” she says,
Cannabis Food Safety Culture GREEN THUMB INDUSTRIES (GTI) is a consumer packaged goods company and retailer that manufactures and distributes a range of cannabis products. Headquartered in Chicago, the company owns and operates national retail cannabis stores called Rise. GTI has 13 manufacturing facilities, licenses for 97 retail locations, and operations across 12 U.S. markets. The food safety culture at its facilities is nearly identical to those at food and beverage plants, but is ramped up to meet cannabis regulations. “If one of us fails, we all fail, especially being a new industry,” says Wendy Uhls, quality and compliance manager. “Right now, it’s not federally legal. If one of us has any sort of major incident, that could take us down. We can’t risk that. We’re doing everything that we can to make sure that doesn’t happen on our end. We must have a very specific flow with traceability that’s probably a little more than what the food industry has.” Janet Sullivan, quality compliance manager for GTI, agrees. Even though GTI’s Homestead, Fla., facility does not currently produce edibles, it still follows all FDA, state, and local regulations. “We make sure that we have our asset plan, the allergen control, and all the regular GMPs that any food plant would have,” she states. At present, the Florida facility is producing oils and tinctures. Sullivan was hired by GTI for her broad range of food safety experience to handle edibles when her facility starts the production process. “I have the background to make sure we have the right controls and programs in place to be
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able to handle those edibles when we do get them,” she says. Changing the culture has been a bit of a challenge, Sullivan says. “People have been here for several years, and here I am, the new person, coming in trying to change the culture. The biggest obstacle so far is just to get them onboard with the food safety piece, and how to develop that into the facility,” she states. “It’s just changing people’s mindset on what they had been doing before.” Uhls says one of her biggest challenges is training employees who come from outside the food industry. “We’ve got a lot of workers coming from textiles or other industries that may not necessarily have the same standards,” she states. The good news is that most of the workers are fairly young in their careers, so Uhls says she is able to embed the needed knowledge early, which is a definite benefit. As would be expected, the cannabis industry is heavily monitored. In Illinois, for example, the Department of Agriculture monitors all processes, has access to facility cameras, and performs weekly virtual inspections. In addition, Illinois State Police conduct monthly in-person surprise visits. In Florida, the Department of Health regulates production. “We have a whole book of regulations to follow, all the way from where the employees come in through the door, and all the way through our green waste being disposed of at the end of the day,” says Sullivan. Florida workers must be fingerprinted and undergo a check with the Department of Health to ensure potential employees have no past history of felonies or drug convictions, for example.
| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
3/31/21 7:53 AM
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FOOD SAFETY CULTURE
Auditing Food Safety Culture What will the GFSI auditor look for? • Evidence of a plan with objectives and targets around food safety culture and evidence of the site completing the activities in its action plan • Senior management’s commitment and leadership that enable the development and continuous improvement of the culture • Management of communication related to food safety behaviors and programs • Empowerment of the workforce through education and training • Feedback from employees through interviews across all levels of personnel on an informal basis (The auditor will expect to find an awareness of food safety culture, how individuals can impact it, and the company’s objectives.) • Performance measurement on food safety-related activities • Evidence of a plan with objectives and evidence of the site completing the activities in its action plan • Rewards and recognition of employees Source: The Acheson Group (TAG) and Safetychain. FSMA Fridays, “Building an Auditable, Measurable Food Safety Culture.”
“but look at how the people are managing it. Look at how they’re doing it. Are they doing it on time? Is it something that is consistently being done? Because that shows you where you are in the culture model.”
Casal-Wardle also discussed the culture parodies of task-based and role-based programs during the FSMA Fridays webinar conducted by TAG and Safetychain on “Building an Auditable, Measurable Food Safety Culture.” “A task-based culture is a matrix driven by work,” she explained. “People are related in that culture through the work they do.” In contrast, she said, a role-based culture is driven by hierarchy and its chain of command. “A task-based culture is collaborative,” she continued. “And a role-based culture can have conflicting agendas, because the manager might want something different than what the operator is doing, or the director thinks that the manager is doing something different than what they’re doing.” In a task-based culture, employees have equal ownership and are empowered. To learn more about role-based and task-based cultures, see the box on page 24.
Sage advice Your food safety culture must be adaptable, Casal-Wardle says. She recommends having clear expectations of your current food safety state and adapting to the changes that come either internally or externally. “Change is creating a new habit. In creating a new habit, you have to create the tools for the people to understand why you are changing it, and how that is going to help them, and why it is important.” She says communication is a key factor in the success of the culture. “Explain the objectives, manage the objectives, be open to questions,” she declares. Uhls says food safety is an ongoing process. “Partner with everyone you can to find the best systems to implement any way you can,” she states. “Share what you can, and do the best you can.” Sullivan concurs, but adds, “Don’t give up. Reach out to companies, places, or people that can help you with what you’re struggling with.” Fear says it is critical that everyone understand the role they play in making food safety a top priority. He says Conagra Brands is committed to training and empowering people to identify potential issues and improvement opportunities, and then following through by taking the right actions. After all, Fear states, “the most discerning judges are customers and consumers.” FoodLogiQ www.foodlogiq.com
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Safetychain www.safetychain.com
PROFOOD WORLD
The Acheson Group (TAG) www.achesongroup.com
| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
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TECH TODAY: MOTORS AND DRIVES AARON HAND | EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Come Together for Motion Efficiency, Performance, Reliability Beyond the advances made to both motors and drives in terms of energy efficiency, safety, cleanability, and more, suppliers emphasize the importance of how they work together in a complete motion system.
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O CHOOSE THE RIGHT MOTOR for your application, you need to consider more than just horsepower, speed, and torque, of course. With electric motor systems accounting for about 70% of the electricity demand in industry, energy efficiency has long been a prerequisite that seemed, however, to be reaching its limits. Efficiency is being pushed further through full system optimization, but requirements are also increasing for improved hygiene, safety, connectivity, data availability…everything that will keep those motors and drives—and all the production equipment they keep in motion—from shutting down unexpectedly. Motor and drive suppliers are creating products for a food and beverage industry that is on the move. “It’s an industry which I think is really more of a laggard
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Coca-Cola HBC Austria saved 75% of the energy consumed with its previous drive and control technology by installing SEW-Eurodrive’s Movigear mechatronic drive system. 28
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PHOTO COURTESY OF SEW-EURODRIVE
in terms of automation and technology,” says John Parrott, vice president of Siemens Industry’s U.S. food and beverage market. “Now we’re seeing a significant upswing in robotics, digitalization projects, and how to manage the business remotely.”
Finding new energy efficiencies In a recent international push urging greater adoption of high-efficiency motors and drives in industry and infrastructure, ABB Motion emphasizes the point that—despite rapid efficiency advances in the past decade—a significant number of automation systems in operation today consume much more power than required. Saving energy goes straight to the bottom line. There’s a limit to how efficient a standard induction motor can be made, which is why SEW and others have moved to permanent magnet technology instead. Permanent magnet motors are 25-30% more efficient than standard induction motors, according to Chris Wood, food and beverage industry account manager for SEW-Eurodrive. “They’re not only more efficient, but they also have higher starting torques and bigger speed ranges,” he adds. In the past several years, there has been an emphasis on improving the energy efficiency of motors through testing and classification standards, but more importance is being putting these days on understanding how the whole power drive system
| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
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PHOTO COURTESY OF SIEMENS INDUSTRY
can work together for improved efficiency. SEW’s Movigear mechatronic drive system comprises a permanent-field synchronous motor, gear unit, and integrated drive electronics. The system improves efficiency not only through the efficiency of the motor itself, but through the energy optimization of the overall system, with expected energy savings of up to 50%. Focused on reducing CO2 emissions as well as energy costs, Coca-Cola HBC Austria upgraded one of its bottle transport lines (from shrinkpacker to palletizer) with a Movigear system, ultimately saving 75% of the energy consumed over its previous drive and control technology.
Cleaning things up High-efficiency, compact, and hygienic solutions are increasingly becoming requirements in the food and beverage industry, says James Chandler, key markets manager for Nord Drivesystems. Nord’s new IE5+ synchronous motors combine all three—providing a compact, energy-efficient motor in a hygienic design. For areas where motors and drives are likely to
come in contact with food products, the industry has seen a push toward the use of more hygienic devices. Manufacturers are recognizing that standard motors often don’t cut it in food processing environments. These motors cannot stand up to high-temperature, high-pressure cleaning methods prevalent in those environments, nor the caustic chemicals often used. Standard motor and drive designs also provide plenty of food collection points, harboring bacteria and other contaminants. And the fans used in typical motors can spread those contaminants even further afield. One change ABB made to its NEMA motors a few years ago was to independently weld the feet on the bottom of the motors, enabling them to be cleaned more effectively and efficiently. “It helped to eliminate food collection points,” says Matt Rodebush, global food and beverage segment manager for ABB Motion’s NEMA motors division. He adds that the smooth contours of the motor, along with a rotatable, round conduit box, eliminates food collection points that are common to competing conduit boxes. Encapsulated windings are another feature. “One www.profoodworld.com
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Digital twins can be used to help optimize production lines, including motor and drive configurations.
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For its mobile craft brew canning lines, Wild Goose Canning wanted a solution in which the variable-frequency drive was mounted directly to the motor.
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time to wash it down as conventional motors.” Also, they don’t use a fan to cool the motor the way conventional electric motors do—an important point in sanitation, particularly considering COVID-19 concerns of spreading germs. “As a joke, I took a picture masking an electric motor to prevent forced air flow carrying microbes to process food,” Kanaris says. “Now we are conducting a study to find out how serous that problem is, post-COVID. It is serous. That problem PHOTO COURTESY OF NORD DRIVESYSTEMS doesn’t exist with the use of the drum motor.” VDG set up a conveyor to conduct a simof the biggest failures for food-grade motors is when ple experiment, covering a piece of cardboard with condensation or water gets in,” Rodebush says. “We sticky material to see how much cinnamon would fully encapsulate our windings. The windings are be spread by the fan at the back of the motor. “The dipped into a solution that seals the winding from cinnamon went all over,” Kanaris says. “You can wash any water or contaminants.” down the conveyor all you want. It can still be sucked Neugart is seeing a trend toward more hygienic out of the motor and delivered to the food.” gearboxes. “From our perspective, food safety and There’s such a push for sanitary products that the non-corrosive material is the most major requireVDG plans to completely separate its stainless-steel ment we face when we get requests from customers production from its plants in Toronto and Michigan, or partners in the industry,” says Daniel Weis, area Kanaris notes. “We’ll have totally sanitary drive prosales manager for Neugart. “The challenge that our duction for food, somewhere in Florida,” he says. “Our customers have is to find hygienic components that sanitary products will all be produced in one place.” are truly hygienic. There are plenty of stainless-steel products out there, but they’re not truly food-grade.” Made with food-grade stainless steel, Neugart’s Keep it safe HLAE gearbox was designed for hygienic use in food, Though some might argue that safety has always pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries, Weis notes. been priority No. 1, the push continues to improve It’s IP69K-rated, which makes it suitable for steam safety in food and beverage operations. “When we’re pressure washing and industrial chemical cleaners. looking at food, one of the biggest topics for sure “There are no corners, and no flat space that any would be safety—not only food safety, but the safety debris can sit on and dwell,” he says. “And the housing of the people who come in contact with the motors is electropolished, which makes it a non-stick surface. and drives,” Rodebush says. Water will always pearl off of it, and no bacteria can One safety measure is provided with ABB’s hang onto it. There are no indentations or manufacBluetooth-enabled drives, enabling maintenance turing grooves that microorganisms can grasp.” workers to troubleshoot a system without necesVan der Graaf (VDG), which has been making drum sarily having to open up the panels. “They can look motors for more than 35 years, has seen a bigger at parameters on their phone or laptop,” notes Jim push for sanitation in the past five years, according Neawedde, U.S. food and beverage segment manto Alex Kanaris, VDG’s president and CEO. A typical ager for the drives division of ABB Motion. “They can design has a square shaft where sprockets are mountkeep out of the arc flash area.” ed, and then the motor belt runs on top of the sprockThis also has the potential to keep workers out of ets. “The problem we saw is if you have a product like other types of dangerous areas, whether in high locaprotein debris falling in between the sprockets, it’s tions or otherwise just difficult to reach, Rodebush nearly impossible to fully sanitize it,” he explains. adds. “They can look on the screen of their phone and VDG has designed a drum motor that has a consee the health of the equipment without having to go tinuous profile, with no need for sprockets. “The out and put their hands on the product.” benefit is that you can clean it a lot easier, and the Siemens is seeing a lot more use of synchronous debris doesn’t stay on the motor as much as the servo motors in the food and beverage industry, says square shaft,” Kanaris says. “It takes a third of the Craig Nelson, senior product manager for digital | April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
3/31/21 7:58 AM
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TECH TODAY: MOTORS AND DRIVES
mass of the gantry to maximize performance,” Kling says. “And they maximized throughput performance because of the added torque density of our motors.”
Servos replace pneumatics
PHOTO COURTESY OF YASKAWA AMERICA
Yaskawa’s Singular Control powers multiple robots along with dozens of axes of automated motion with a single controller and a single programming environment.
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industries and motion control, largely because of their safety integrated functionality beyond safe stopping, including safe limited speed and safe positioning.
Super servos Servos are important from a performance aspect as well, Nelson adds. “Nine times out of 10, if you’re looking for a performance machine, with a very fast speed,” he says, “you’re going to be using permanent magnet synchronous motors.” Randy Summervill, product marketing manager for Simotics motion control motors at Siemens Industry, points to the ability of permanent magnets to provide very dynamic and precise movements. That provides an assurance of safety, he says, but also enables applications that demand precision, such as putting a tamper-resistant seal on containers. “Servo control definitely continues to grow,” says Paul Kling, market segment manager for packaging at Yaskawa America. Though food processing has historically used variable-frequency drive (VFD) technology, this is very commonly migrating to servo control, which is more precise and has more data. “Every manufacturing plant wants data. When you get to servo control, you get access to much greater data from the motors and drives that make them attractive.” Yaskawa’s servo designs use almost twice as much copper in the winding as most of its competitors, Kling points out. “That means more torque. In the same package size, there’s maybe 20% more torque,” he explains. “It results in faster throughput, more parts per minute, more product per hour; and oftentimes more precision.” One customer doing palletizing of frozen lasagna packages was able to benefit. “Our motor technology allowed them to use the smallest size motor to get the performance they wanted. This reduced the whole
The advancement of the technology is pushing traditional pneumatic applications toward servo motion control, particularly in the packaging space, according to Tim Sharkey, director of product market management for electric automation at Festo. “In the past, to introduce a servo drive to the machine, it added a lot of complexity—high-level PLCs, lots of wiring, programming, commissioning, the cost was huge. To add six axes of servo, you were talking about $30,000,” he says. “Now we’re introducing products that are in the hundreds-of-dollars range. And they’re simple to integrate into the machine, control it, and get the effect you like.” The servo technology can mimic pneumatic capabilities while providing improved performance, he adds. “We’re now able to apply servo drives and motion control and get much greater repeatability, improved noise, and more flexibility.” Festo’s Simplified Motion Series are integrated drives that provide an electric alternative for simple movement and positioning tasks, filling a void in the market created by the move away from pneumatics, Sharkey says.
More intelligence, more data If food and beverage producers weren’t already looking for more intelligent insights from their motor and drive systems before, the pandemic has certainly lit a fire under many of them. “One of the significant manufacturing drivers that COVID accentuated is the importance of a digitalization process,” Parrott says, pointing to the desire for advanced maintenance notifications and predictive capabilities. “More importantly, we can digitize the process. We can run offline simulation models.” Parrott is referencing digital twin concepts that could help to evaluate the motor and drive system within a machine—running simulations to check the size of the motor, for example, or whether the design of the machine actually needs to be changed electrically or mechanically. In one example, changing the motor and drive configuration could ultimately affect the quality of snack chips being made by a manufacturer using digital twins to evaluate their machine configurations. “They’re running simulations offline of production to look at different variants of product as it comes out,” Parrott says. The digital twin also evaluates the best way to increase throughput and performance—providing an
| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
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of dollars an hour,” notes Edward Tom, low voltage drives product manager for Yaskawa America. “Not only is it important to have a drive that is reliable, it’s also important to have a drive that can provide data that can help drive informed decisions.”
Arguments for a single source
PHOTO COURTESY OF VAN DER GRAAF
Though this picture was initially taken as a joke during pandemic-related mask requirements, it actually illustrates the sanitation problems that can occur with the fans in electric motors carrying microbes to food processing areas.
optimal state to maximize those parameters, Parrott adds. It moves beyond the dashboard of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). “Collecting basic data like vibration, temperature, current, and flow is one thing,” he says. “But when you want to know when the motor is failing, or you need to do adjustments for the ‘golden run’… Here’s where machine learning is going to come in handy.” Smart sensors are instrumental in providing the data needed for predictive maintenance. “They can pick up vibrations and problems well ahead of when they become an actual issue,” Neawedde says. “Manufacturers can move away from emergency breakdown situations and do shutdowns at their leisure.” Condition monitoring has been an important development for Nord control products, Chandler says, providing vital information for predictive maintenance. “Before, with preventive maintenance, end users would walk around and check the oil level of reducers or check bearing noise,” he says. “This type of information is still required, but automating the retrieval of information and providing predictive feedback electronically is more desirable.” Drive and status data are recorded periodically or continuously to optimize the operational safety and efficiency of equipment. Food and beverage manufacturers understand as well as anybody that machine uptime is critical. “A failure in any component of the machine results in costly downtime that can cost the company thousands
Though any manufacturing operation is likely to have components and systems from a wide variety of vendors, several suppliers make the case that it’s not the best way to create an optimized motion system, advocating the importance of the motors and drives working together in a single system. “Our combined powertrain solution is how we go to the food and beverage market,” Neawedde adds. “We provide a motor/drive combination that is optimized for the customer’s needs and for the particular application.” TruTech Specialty Motors customizes systems that combine the motors with the drives and controls for the machine. In part, this means actually taking components out of the drive system—such as the gearbox, which TruTech views as a point of failure. “We look at a higher-torque, lower-speed unit that eliminates the gearbox. We’re taking parts out of the system to increase overall reliability,” says Karl Meier, executive vice president of TruTech. “The standard thinking process is: Let’s call up the usual suspects and figure out how to cobble a system together to make it work,” adds Ted Paskvan, TruTech’s president. “We look at how to minimize the number of components. We take it from $5,000 to $2,000, and it’s more reliable, more robust, longer life, and fewer moving parts.” In an atmosphere where manufacturers are often piecemealing components together, it can be a challenge to coordinate the whole system, Kling notes. To help, Yaskawa has developed Singular Control, which unifies the control of servos, VFDs, and robot mechanisms. This is important as the food and beverage industry installs more robotics. Singular Control powers multiple robots along with dozens of axes of automated motion with a single controller and a single programming environment. The same frozen lasagna palletizing operation mentioned earlier benefited from Singular Control for its multiple axes of motion in its gantry application, Kling says. ABB Motion www.abb.com/motion
Nord Drivesystems www.nord.com
TruTech Specialty Motors www.trutechmotors.com
Festo www.festo.com
SEW-Eurodrive www.sew-eurodrive.de
Van der Graaf www.vandergraaf.com
Neugart www.neugart.com
Siemens Industry www.usa.siemens.com
Yaskawa America www.yaskawa.com
www.profoodworld.com
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CASE STUDY GOYA FOODS AARON HAND | EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Automated Bulk Bag Dischargers Help Keep Pace With High-Speed Packaging A new distribution center not only provided four times the space to help relieve previous bottlenecks in rice, bean, and flour lines, but also needed more efficient bulk handling equipment to keep up with other high-speed functions.
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S THE LARGEST HISPANIC-OWNED food company in the U.S., Goya Foods was bursting at the seams. Though continuing to invest in its distribution center in Secaucus, N.J., it was time to open a new larger site as well. “We had run out of capacity for rice mixtures at our previous site,” says Luis Valencia, plant engineer for Goya’s new headquarters and distribution center in Jersey City, N.J. “In fact, all of the existing lines, including the bean and flour lines, were over-utilized. We were overdue for a change.” Goya imports ingredients from around the world to create more than 2,500 food products of Latin cuisine traditional to Mexico, Spain, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. The new site, opened in 2015, provided four times the space of its previous facility—relieving several long-standing bottlenecks, Valencia says. Not only did the company want more space, but it wanted higher-capacity equipment to fill that space. It outfitted the new site with a high-speed pouch filling line for its rice, along with more efficient bulk handling and packaging equipment, including 16 bulk bag and rigid tote IBC discharger systems from Flexicon. “We had Flexicon equipment here already, so we knew they were reliable systems,” Valencia says. Efficiency is a key focus for these operations, Valencia notes. “The processes are relatively uncomplicated, so the simpler the process, the higher our efficiency must be,” he explains. “We’re always looking to increase quality, safety, and efficiency.”
Bringing in the materials Goya receives rice, beans, dry vegetables, and flour in 2,200-lb bulk bags, and puts spice mixtures in rigid 1,100-lb totes. Ingredients are batched to the packaging machines by gain-in-weight control.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOYA FOODS
Goya Foods packages beans, rice mixes, corn meal, and other dry products at its new facility in Secaucus, N.J. Pictured here, filled and sealed packages of Spanish rice proceed to a cartoning line.
The handling of these bulk bags was one bottleneck that needed to be improved to increase productivity. The solution came in the form of Bulk-Out BFC bulk bag dischargers, which load bags quickly by means of a cantilevered I-beam, hoist, and trolley. They provide more efficiency as well. The fast-loading units allow just two forklift drivers to serve all 16 of the site’s bulk bag dischargers, Valencia says. A single operator can load and discharge bulk bags across several product lines. After a forklift places a palletized bulk bag in front of the discharger, the operator connects the bag loops to Z-Clip bag strap holders on the lifting frame and, using a pendant, hoists the bag into the discharger. www.profoodworld.com
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CASE STUDY GOYA FOODS
Dry Processing SOLUTIONS
totes, which are hoisted above a Model BFHC-X half frame discharger mounted on a hopper with a 2,500-lb capacity. From the hopper outlet, a 25-ft-long flexible screw conveyor, also from Flexicon, is inclined at 32 degrees, moving the spices to a weigh hopper that discharges to the pouch filler. The flexible screw, which rotates inside a polymer outer tube, is the only moving part contacting material—keeping the material from contacting seals or bearings. “The conveyor is sanitized daily by disconnecting the flexible screw from the drive shaft and removing the screw for cleaning,” Valencia notes.
Fine-tuning bean and flour lines
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Bean and flour lines are not only operating at higher capacity now with BFC bulk PHOTO COURTESY OF GOYA FOODS bag dischargers, but upgraded electronics are also enFlexible screw conveyors abling those lines to operate transfer ingredients from bulk more precisely. bag dischargers, through a wall, The bean line uses six bulk to feed packaging machines bag dischargers—mounted in the next room. The screws over 5,000-lb capacity floor prevent product contact with hoppers and arranged in seals or bearings. three pairs. A bucket conveyor feeds a weigh hopper that A cantilevered I-beam with then discharges into a pilhoist and trolley allows bags low-bag packaging machine. to be raised and rolled into a The flour line uses three bulk discharger using a pendant. bag dischargers, each with Flow-Flexer bag activator plates that increasingly raise and lower opposite bottom PHOTO COURTESY OF GOYA FOODS edges of the bag on timed cycles to promote total discharge. Matching high-speed packaging Goya Secaucus packages 50 different bean To match the production capacity of a new highvarieties and 30 different flours—each with slightly speed pouch filler for rice mixes, Goya also installed a different flow characteristics. “We changeover congain-in-weight batching system for the rice, vegetastantly, and when you change a bean or a flour or a ble, and spice components, automating and expeditrice mix, there’s a lot of fine-tuning,” Valencia says. ing a process that previously required manual verifiFine flours are among the tougher products. “It’s cation that batches reach the pouch filler. a challenge to dial it in; the higher the speed, the For rice, fork trucks deliver palletized bulk bags more precision is required,” Valencia says, noting to side-by-side BFC bulk bag dischargers that that Flexicon helped the facility upgrade its elecunload into two large 5,000-lb capacity floor hoptronics to help with that precision. “They made sure pers. The hoppers feed a common 20-ft-long buckthe dischargers were feeding correctly and the et conveyor leading to a weigh hopper, which empcontrols were reading the hopper levels correctly. ties into the pouch filler. Each discharger unloads a We control the weights better now and avoid pro2,200-lb bulk bag of rice in 4 minutes. Dry vegetacess loss.” bles move from bulk bag discharger to pouch filler in much the same way. Flexicon Spices for the rice mixes are supplied in rigid www.flexicon.com 36
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| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
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ROTARY AIRLOCKS HAVE NO CREVICES, REDUCING MATERIAL ACCUMULATION Used in food applications requiring frequent cleaning of the valve internals, Carolina Conveying rotary airlocks have a rotor that can be removed without any hand tools. The Easy Clean rotary airlocks feature scalloped rotor pockets with smoothed-out bottoms. Valve internals polished to any specification and optional slide rails, which fully support the rotor assembly, are available.
The Munson Machinery rotary continuous mixer blends high volumes of primary bulk ingredients, minor ingredients, and/or liquid additions in 1 to 2 min of residence time. The sanitary Model RCM-60X20-SS mixer employs a 20-ft long by 60-in. diameter rotating cylinder with internal mixing flights that distribute particles with each degree of drum rotation. The mixer’s stationary inlet and outlet allow hard connections to upstream and downstream process equipment, while an internal stainless-steel spray line plumbed through the stationary discharge end permits liquid coating, de-dusting, or perfuming of dry ingredients. A weir (dam) at the discharge end of the drum creates a residence bed of material that mixes as it travels through the unit, ultimately overflowing the weir and discharging at rates determined by the residence volume of the rotating cylinder and the rate of material inflow. Munson Machinery | munsonmachinery.com
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CONTINUOUS PROCESSORS ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR DOWNSTREAM DRYING Readco continuous processors automatically mix multiple highly viscous, liquid, and dry materials to a targeted, homogeneous mixture, without the addition of water. Featuring twin co-rotating screws set within a closed barrel, the processors handle viscosities in excess of 10 million centipoise, permitting the production of syrups, oils, foams, and other thick materials. Readco Kurimoto | readco.com
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| April 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
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CONVEYORS ARE PROVEN SAFE IN HAZARDOUS ZONES Built for the safe transport of powders, pellets, flakes, granules, tablets, liquids, and other products, Volkmann vacuum conveyors operate without electric power in a conductive design with pneumatically driven parts. The ATEX-certified, modular VS pneumatic vacuum conveying systems for food are safe for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, such as those involving combustible dust, flammable gases, and/or hybrid mixtures of solids and gas. Volkmann USA | volkmannusa.com
6LPSOLą HG 0RWLRQ 6HULHV UNIT ALLOWS FILLING OF BULK BAGS AND DRUMS IN LOW-HEADROOM AREAS The Flexicon filler features full-length forklifting tubes that allow incremental height adjustments to accommodate bags from 42- to 59-in. tall and widths up to 45 in. The low-profile combination bulk bag/drum filler is equipped with an inflatable bag spout seal and feed chute dust vent. A remote console or wall-mounted panel houses controls to automatically inflate bags, open a flow control valve, or start a feed device, and stop the flow of material once a preset fill weight has been attained. A vibratory deck de-aerates material in bags weighing up to 2 tons and densifies the material at predetermined set points. Once the bags are filled, the controller deflates the spout connection collar and releases the loop latches, enabling an operator to remove the palletized bag using a pallet jack or fork truck. The unit can be switched to drum-filling mode by positioning the swing-armmounted drum-filling chute under the fill head discharge port. Flexicon | flexicon.com
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NEW PRODUCTS
Dry Processing SOLUTIONS
Designed for applications requiring access to hard-toreach processing and packaging areas, the Vac-U-Max mobile vacuum conveying system features an adjustable suction wand for introducing products into the system. The mobile frame incorporates a vacuum producer that conveys products at rates up to 5,000 lb/hr. Capable of being hoisted to a height of 91 in., the vacuum receiver at the discharge point includes replaceable inlet assemblies, pulse filter cleaning, and fully opening discharge valves. The control panel mounted on the frame handles the conveying, discharge, and filter cleaning functions. The system is USDA accepted. Vac-U-Max | vac-u-max.com
BULK BAG FILLING SYSTEM ENSURES CONTAMINANT-FREE PROCESS
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VACUUM CONVEYING SYSTEM OFFERS EASE OF MOBILITY
FDA and USDA approved for areas of direct and indirect dry food contact, the Material Transfer bulk bag filling system has sanitary stainless-steel product contact surfaces and a stainlesssteel surge hopper that allows material to collect and flow uniformly through a metal detector. The Material Master Powerfill system features a rotating bag support carriage and fill head that lower to a programmed operator height and then rotate for “reach-free” bag strap connection. Once the bag spout is sealed, the bulk bag is automatically inflated, filled to a specified weight from the product infeed chute above, and densified. After the fill cycle is complete, the bag inlet spout and straps automatically release, the fill head rises, and the filled bag can be removed via forklift. Material Transfer | materialtransfer.com
Simple. Sanitary. Secure. Introducing Stainless Steel Hygienic Liquid Tight Metallic Conduit and Hygienic Flex Fittings to the Calbrite Flex Family. Calbrite Hygienic Flex products are made from 316 stainless steel, making them ideal for food processing facilities where washdown and high temperatures are required. Calbrite Hygienic Flex products are designed to provide excellent absorption of motion and vibration, protecting electrical wires and cables in any location.
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REWIND REELS ARE BUILT TO ORDER
Hannay reels can be used for washdowns, pressure washing, and chemical cleaning. Available with a variety of mounting options, including cart, wall, ceiling, or floor mounted, SSN700 Series spring rewind reels have a stainless-steel construction, four-way roller assembly, declutching arbor, non-sparking ratchet assembly, mounting base, and a frame that handles ¼- to ½-in. I.D. hose. The reels are suitable for pressures up to 3,000 psi (207 bar) and temperatures from 32 to 400 °F.
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Hannay Reels | hannay.com
CONTROL VALVE CUTS COSTS WHILE PREVENTING DAMAGE Built for industrial processes that incorporate pumps, such as condensate pumps, boiler feedwater pumps, or lowpressure centrifugal pumps, the Circor control valve combines a pump protection recirculation valve and a control valve, enabling it to regulate both the main and recirculation flow. The RTK discharge and pump protection control valve includes an inline-adjustable recirculation port that allows operator control of the valve while the pump is working. Circor International circor.com
METER PROVIDES SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE IN DENSITY AND MASS FLOW MEASUREMENT Capable of handling flow rates even in the face of pressure fluctuations, the Krohne Coriolis meter has a close-coupled twin-tube configuration with an optimized flow splitter, a 100% accurate standard measuring tube, and modular electronic converters that provide basic functionality or high-end diagnostic capabilities. The OPTIMASS 1000 straight tube Coriolis mass meter is not affected by external influences, such as vibration and hydraulic noise, and operates at temperatures between -40 and 266 °F. It can be fitted with most industry-standard hygienic connectors and DIN, ANSI, and JIS standard flanges. Krohne | us.krohne.com
HOSES DO NOT LEACH HARMFUL LEVELS OF CONTAMINANTS INTO POTABLE WATER NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 61 certified, Clearwater rubber hoses allow the safe discharge or suction of potable water. Inert rubber water hoses, the Flextra and Softwall versions feature a proprietary inner tube material to help ensure water quality.
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Continental ContiTech North America | continental-industry.com
ACCUMULATOR INCLUDES REMOVABLE PRODUCT TURN GUIDE OR CORNER FOR QUICK CHANGEOVERS The Multi-Conveyor accumulator has a configuration that allows a large volume of backpressure-sensitive products to accumulate in single file. With the bolted-construction, wipe-down-rated, first-in, first-out stainless-steel accumulator, sqround and round bottles travel through a 45-degree curve and then enter a serpentine accumulation table conveyor system. The bottles travel back and forth, with a gap between them, through the entire length of the table, before transferring onto an existing X-ray system. Custom infeed and discharge transport conveyor sections allow the addition of the accumulator to an existing line, without heavy modification or moving equipment. Multi-Conveyor | multi-conveyor.com
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INDUSTRIAL BOWL CUTTERS PROVIDE UNRESTRICTED PROCESS SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY
COUNTING EQUIPMENT REDUCES PRODUCT LOSS AND MAXIMIZES PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY Designed for the counting and dispensing of individual food products, Cremer counting machines are constructed for harsh working environments where washdown/wipedown procedures are necessary. The counting accuracy of the WD Series hygiene-centric stainless-steel machines is not affected by small weight variations between individual pieces. Compatible with all industrial packaging machines, the units have FDA-compliant product parts, a product detection unit with 100% accuracy, hinged side panels for cleanability, vibratory plates for product transport and separation, a timing hopper for discharging product counts, and a vibratory sieve with collector tray. The machines’ 60-cm footprint allow them to be placed on a hygienic platform, on top of a vertical form/fill/seal bag maker or over an indexing tray or carton conveyor.
K+G Wetter industrial bowl cutters feature a self-adjusting knife cover strip with a vertical movement capability to absorb frictional resistance; it also can be easily clipped in and out for cleaning. With the Hygienic Secure industrial bowl cutters, the area between the bowl and the vacuum chamber does not require a seal. Large cleaning flaps in the vacuum vessel can be opened without tools for access with the cleaning lance and the visual inspection of cleaning results. Other features include an efficient cooking system and the tool-free removal of necessary parts, such as the bowl wiper, bowl support pad, and silencer. AmTrade Systems | amtrade-systems.com
Cremer | cremer.com
Can your bearings standup to harsh washdowns? ALUMINUM CYLINDER INCREASES MACHINE SPEEDS AND RELIABILITY The Aventics cylinder is supported by a full suite of web-based design and integration tools. An online configurator provides a product part number, as well as 2-D and 3-D CAD drawings. National Fluid Power Association compatible, the TM5 TaskMaster pneumatic cylinder has an aluminum body construction and steel piston rod, and features pneumatic technology that allows cushion adjustment to slow down the piston to a stop by the time it reaches the endcap.
GRAPHALLOY® bearings. Self-lubricating. Maintenance-free. • • • • • •
Withstand harsh, corrosive washdowns Self-Lubricating FDA Acceptable Can operate submerged Reduce maintenance and downtime Withstand temperatures up to 1,000˚F (535˚C)
Contact us today to discover the benefits of Graphalloy maintenance-free bearings.
Emerson Industrial Automation | emerson.com Yonkers, NY USA
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+1.914.968.8400
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The Syntegon cartoner can be equipped with one or more delta robot cells. Due to the camera-based vision control system of the robotic solution in the Sigpack TTMD cartoner, the position of individual products on the infeed belt is detected. The delta robots can pick single or multiple products arriving in random order from several processes and place them in cartons, trays, or other containers, according to specifications, in a flat or on-edge position. The topload cartoner closes cartons at a maximum rate of 150 per min. Syntegon Technology | syntegon.com
MIXERS PRODUCE CREAMS, GELS, AND PASTES IN A HIGHLY REPEATABLE, CLEAN PROCESS Ross triple shaft mixers are built for a variety of challenging viscous applications requiring hygienic and sanitary handling. Featuring electropolished and passivated product contact surfaces, VersaMix mixers are designed for full vacuum operation, as well as an internal pressure up to 5 psig to accommodate nitrogen blanketing. They offer powder wet-out and dispersion, temperature control, emulsification, homogenization, and degassing in one vessel. CE-marked motors and ATEX-rated operator panels make the mixers suitable for use in Zone 1 classified areas. Models ranging from 1 to 500 gal are available. Charles Ross & Son | mixers.com
PLUNGERS ARE EASIER TO CLEAN, EVEN WHILE INSTALLED
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S AV E S PA C E S AV E T I M E
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JW Winco | jwwinco.com
Worldwide
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Engineered for food production machines, Winco indexing plungers are certified according to the “DGUV Test,” which confirms the hygienic requirements based on European regulations have been met. GN 8170 stainless-steel indexing plungers are intended for use in areas requiring sanitary equipment. Available in lock-out or nonlock-out types with a sealing lock nut that creates a totally hygienic version or without a sealing lock nut, the plungers have a high-quality surface finish to prevent dirt from adhering to them.
C LAYTO N ST EAM Advancing BOI L E R S Boiler Technology ▲
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CARTONER WITH INTEGRATED DELTA ROBOTS ADDS FLEXIBILITY IN PRODUCT FEEDING
S AV E M O N E Y
800.423.4585 info@claytonindustries.com www.claytonindustries.com
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DISINFECTANT SUPPORTS OVERALL HEALTHIER FACILITIES
ProClean disinfectant kills 99.99% of almost 50 bacteria, fungi, and viruses, such as H1N1 swine flu, SARS-CoV-2 (the causal agent of COVID-19), and E. coli. Included on the EPA’s List-N, the disinfectant kills pathogens on high-touch, public areas within a facility, such as office spaces, breakrooms, locker rooms, light switches, and door handles, through an initial wipedown treatment, followed by a misting treatment on the remaining contact surfaces and areas. Industrial Fumigant | indfumco.com
STEAM CLEANERS ELIMINATE VIRUSES, BACTERIA, FUNGI, AND BIOFILMS
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32 3 Helping you bring 99 9 your best products to market. Delivering Results. With Heat and Control, you have a partner with the scale to support your success, the innovation to advance your operations, and a commitment to quality that will help you offer better products for consumers.
Available in a variety of models to accommodate a range of food facilities, Bayzi antimicrobial steam cleaners safely sanitize almost any surface, leaving no residue, moisture, or harmful chemicals. The SaniZap-4 portable cleaner can be used at lower steam temperatures with soap or detergent to clean visible dirt and grime or at higher steam temperatures for antimicrobial sanitizing. It can be worked into any sanitizing regimen as an addition or replacement to an existing cleaning rotation. ▲
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CONDUIT PREVENTS CONTAMINATION FROM OILS, DIRT, DUST, AND LIQUID
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Made from polished 316 stainless steel, the Calbrite conduit features a smooth, oil-resistant, blue PVC coating. Helically wound, the hygienic, liquid-tight metallic conduit offers compression strength up to 400 kg, tensile strength to 130 kg, and a temperature range of -4 to 221 °F. Rated up to IP69 for washdown applications, the conduit can be used in harsh environments and is ROHS and REACH compliant. Atkore | atkore.com
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LOOKING BACK. PRESSING FORWARD. ALWAYS INNOVATING.
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Simply the best vacuum conveyor ▲
COLLABORATIVE ROBOTS OFFER HIGHER PAYLOADS AND SPEEDS
Intuitively designed, ABB collaborative robots can be operated straight out of the box, with no specialized training required. The GoFa and SWIFTI cobots operate in the presence of workers, without the need for physical safety measures, to assist them with tasks, such as material handling, machine tending, and packaging. The cobots can be programmed and reprogrammed via a tablet or smartphone. ABB | abb.com
PACKAGE TESTING SYSTEM OFFERS SHORTER FILL AND TEST TIMES Designed for use on the production floor or in the laboratory, the Dansensor Lippke package testing system can measure package leaks, burst pressure, and seal strength in all types of packages, with or without a modified atmosphere. The 5000 package integrity testing system includes a test head with the sensor probe located inside the needle for more accurate pressure control during the testing process. The touchscreen has a user-friendly graphical interface that enables intuitive data capturing, storage, and export. The system supports a range of standard test methods, including ASTM F-1140, ASTM F-2054, ASTM F-2095, ASTM F-2096, and ISO 11607, and enables compliance to 21 CFR, part 11 for data security. Ametek Mocon | ametekmocon.com
The Nutec feed system handles hard-to-form products. Portioning up to 5,500 lb of product per hr with minimal product working, the all-hydraulic 760H feed system has a rotating spiral that moves product toward the rotor, while the rotary vane pump feeds it directly to the mold plate cavity. Equipped with a 26-in. usable mold plate width, the system runs beef, pork, poultry, fish, veal, lamb, or vegetables. Custom mold plates are available.
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conveying of powders & small particles Gentle - segregation & damage free Conveying rates up to 10,000 lbs/hr Safe, explosion free Quiet, hygienic, reliable No tools assembly
PUT US TO THE TEST
Nutec Manufacturing | nutecmfg.com
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FEED SYSTEM REDUCES DOWNTIME AND LOWERS REPAIR COSTS
• Lean, dense phase, plug-flow
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609-265-0101 www.volkmannUSA.com 4/1/21 1:27 PM
Build Uptime Into Your Machine Build to clean faster. Our 316L stainless steel AKMH hygienic motors can be washed down directly—no covers, bagging or manual wipedown required. Build to last longer. Our patented vented cables or Gore breather ports continuously HTXDOL]H SUHVVXUH VR FOHDQLQJ ↆXLGV FDQȆW EH pulled into a cooling motor during washdown. %XLOG WR LQFUHDVH SURↅWDELOLW\ Our IP67rated AKD-N decentralized drives support a single-cable architecture that reduces cabling by up to 80% while simplifying washdown. Build with the experts. .ROOPRUJHQȆV food + beverage motion specialists can help \RX GHOLYHU WKH VLPSOLↅHG K\JLHQH DQG UHOLDEOH uptime your customers are looking for. So OHWȆV VWDUW GHVLJQLQJ Engineer the exceptional with Kollmorgen. Learn more at kollmorgen.com/uptime
Watch our webinar on hygienic machine design
©2021 Kollmorgen Corporation. All rights reserved.
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CASE STUDY GOLDRIVER ORCHARDS AARON HAND | EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Automated Control Gives Walnut Processor Real-Time Insight Into Inventory Switching over from manual recordkeeping to digital tracking has provided the producer with a more accurate view of walnut quantities, qualities, and a host of other attributes that were previously difficult to monitor. ▲
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EVELOPED IN 2003 to vertically integrate the walnut farming business of sister company Barton Ranch, GoldRiver Orchards processes almost 30 million lbs of walnuts a year. In mid-2013, GoldRiver moved to a new 104,000-sq-ft facility in Escalon, Calif., to better serve the approximately 100 growers in its network, most of which are in the Escalon area, east of San Francisco. The HACCP-certified processing plant is designed for maximum efficiency and quality. The processor sells its walnuts in bulk packaging— in sacks or boxes, typically either in their shells to be cracked by consumers at home or as kernels that have already been cracked and sorted. Producing this number of walnuts does not come without some difficulties, especially with the level of variety in the shelled walnuts. GoldRiver requires detailed visibility through all stages of sorting and grading, as well as through sales. Managing sales, which are mostly make-to-order, requires knowledge of what the company has in raw materials, work-in-process (WIP), and finished goods at any given time. Until recently, that was all tracked mostly manually, with color-coded WIP cards used to describe the different types of walnuts moving through the plant. “Particularly on the kernel side, inventory’s very difficult. There are a number of different varieties. Once they’re shelled, they change form,” says Matt Metzner, vice president of GoldRiver Orchards. The walnuts can decrease in weight by as much as 45% without their shells. They’re broken into different-sized pieces, and the processor learns more about the walnuts’ color. “Because of all of those changes that happen naturally, it’s really tough to understand what you have in terms of WIP.” It was an inefficient and unreliable tracking process and did not provide the real-time visibility needed. Spreadsheet-based reports—often generated four or five times a day—were labor-intensive to update and publish to managers, and were also
ParityFactory software gives GoldRiver Orchards realtime insights on its walnut inventory, providing a much better idea of what is available to sell.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOLDRIVER ORCHARDS
prone to errors. And the inventory moves so quickly from the yard into various production steps, that as soon as a report was generated, it was out of date.
Automated material tracking In mid-2019, GoldRiver integrated ParityFactory software into all areas of production. The software combines warehouse management with manufacturing execution system (MES) capabilities—tracking processing from receiving through shipping to provide comprehensive materials control. ParityFactory tracks product movement through all production phases. GoldRiver operates as a batch manufacturing plant, Metzner explains, with different www.profoodworld.com
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CASE STUDY GOLDRIVER ORCHARDS
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOLDRIVER ORCHARDS
GoldRiver requires detailed visibility through all stages of sorting and grading, through to shipping. ParityFactory software tracks product movement through all production phases.
stations rather than one conveyor belt. Plant operators are equipped with mobile scanners and label printers to easily record the flow of materials, increasing accuracy and speed by eliminating pen-and-paper recordkeeping, and also reducing the work involved. As bins are filled, weights and quality data are recorded on a tablet that’s connected to the ParityFactory web app. Barcode labels are printed along the way and product details are quickly scanned for full visibility of raw materials, WIP, and items shipped. Real-time visibility ensures the team always has a clear view of what is available for finished case packaging. As each finished pallet of goods is recorded, information is included about the necessary lot, quality, and quantity. Allocations then provide a guided pick plan to the shipping team to guarantee each customer receives the correct lot. The lot tracing capability that ParityFactory provides enables GoldRiver to handle more rigorous food safety standards from governing bodies and customers, Metzner notes.
Results in a nutshell Since implementing ParityFactory, GoldRiver’s inventory levels are now visible in real time. The mobile scanners enable key details of the walnuts received (grower, lot code, weight, product ID, and trailer number) to be quickly entered into the ParityFactory app for automatic inventory visibility. This process allows the team to better manage the production schedule. The ability to create custom fields in the mobile 48
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app allows GoldRiver to record and accurately track every detail specific to its operation throughout the production process, including kernel and jumbo percentages used for production management. “The Parity web app’s great,” Metzner says, explaining how easy it was for GoldRiver’s employees to transition from an Android technology that many of them use on their phones to the Android tablets being used in production. “They’ve been able to easily convert from a tool they’re using every day to using a very similar tool in the plant.” With a bilingual staff, Metzner adds, the app’s ability to crossover between languages has been critical. “We wouldn’t be able to do this if the app was difficult to use.” As a mostly make-to-order business, GoldRiver has been particularly happy with the visibility that the ParityFactory software provides for sales. “Taking our WIP or raw materials and figuring out what we have available to sell—that’s our huge value-add for ParityFactory,” Metzner says. Particularly toward the end of the season, Metzner adds, it’s important to track that inventory within a few percentage points to better understand what’s left to sell. Before using ParityFactory, it was not so precise. “We would end up with several containers of product that we wouldn’t be able to sell or at least not at the right time,” he explains. “Prior to deploying ParityFactory in our plant, we would over or underestimate our final inventory by 120,000 to 240,000 lbs. With ParityFactory, we reduced that figure to 15.6 lbs, or less than one case,” Metzner says. “That degree of precision of inventory makes us a lot more competitive.”
Service to grow Though Metzner joined the company later, he knows that one of the big reasons that the team at GoldRiver chose ParityFactory was for its service. “They could tell during the initial pitch process that the Parity guys are eager to make their product better and are always looking for ways to improve,” he says. ParityFactory’s engineers worked with GoldRiver to develop a digital grading system within the app, Metzner notes. “Any time we receive loaded walnuts from a grower, they’re graded by a third party,” he says, explaining the variety of attributes that are typically written down on carbon paper. “Parity helped us develop a tool so that we could grade that digitally.” Beyond inventory accuracy, it has helped GoldRiver produce loads faster because they know exactly what they have on hand, Metzner adds. ParityFactory www.parityfactory.com
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CASE STUDY TREE TOP AARON HAND | EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Decanter Helps Optimize Fruit Juice Concentrate Process Moving to a new style of decanter largely because of maintenance issues with older machines, a fruit processor found several ways the new system improved production, including sanitation and flexibility.
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ITH ITS HEADQUARTERS in Selah, Wash.—in the heart of the state’s apple country—it’s no surprise that Tree Top got its start in apples. These days, the grower-owned cooperative, representing orchards throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, still focuses on making high-quality apple juice, but also a range of other fruit products as well. At its facility in Prosser, Wash., Tree Top makes a variety of fruit juice concentrates. The majority of the year is focused on apples and pears, but the plant processes a wide range of fruit on a seasonal basis, including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, mangoes, and plums. Decanters, used to extract finely solubilized fruit, are an important part of the juice concentrate pro-
cess. “We bring the fruit into the plant, inspect it, it gets milled into the consistency of apple sauce, we depectinize it, and then we run it through decanters to pull out the solids,” explains Brian Curtis, plant manager at the Prosser facility. Tree Top had some old decanters, some built in the early 1990s, that were beginning to be more trouble than they were worth. “We were reaching a point where they were becoming obsolete and the maintenance was incredibly expensive and frequent,” Curtis says. “Tree Top decided it was time to upgrade those decanters.” The processor bought its first Flottweg decanter in 2012 at its headquarters in Selah, Wash., and then the Prosser facility got its first the next year. Prosser
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Though apple juices and other products are the company’s mainstay most of the year, Tree Top makes seasonal products from a range of other fruits as well.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TREE TOP
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ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF FLOTTWEG
Decanters separate fruit solids from liquids in Tree Top’s production of juice and juice concentrates.
got another in 2015, and a third one last year. With the different style of the Flottweg decanters, maintenance is easier and less expensive, according to Curtis. “They’re very, very low maintenance,” Curtis says. “For the most part, we pretty much do preventative maintenance on the lubrication system, and that’s about it. We haven’t had any of them crash. None of them have failed.” Even annual overhauls are faster and cheaper. “The way it’s designed, for the annual overhaul, it’s really easy to access the components that you need to do your annual maintenance on,” Curtis says. “Also, the way it’s designed, the components aren’t as expensive to replace as some of the other styles.”
Optimizing sanitation, flexiblity The Flottweg decanters have some other benefits that help to optimize production for Tree Top. Sanitation has been one of the most noteworthy, according to Curtis. “Decanters by nature are pushing solids out to the edge of the bowl with centrifugal force, so it creates kind of this cake of solids. When you go to clean them, if you can’t change that G-force, basically, then you’re not able to get the cake off the bowl,” Curtis explains. “So, with the old machines, we didn’t have the ability to get the cake off. We’d have to run them and shut them down, and just hope that the cake would fall, then start them back up and do that a couple times.” The Flottweg decanters have a clean-in-place (CIP) program that changes the flows from high and low, and they also slow down and speed up the bowl. “That helps drop the cake so we get the machines nice and clean,” Curtis says. That Simp Drive feature, which offers the ability to
optimize the bowl speed, also provides a high separation efficiency that ultimately lets Tree Top use about 25% less energy, notes Jon Kingston, food and beverage manager for Flottweg. The adjustable impeller is another feature of the Flottweg decanter, making it flexible and easy to adapt to various types of fruits. “It allows that machine to be used in multiple applications,” Curtis says. “We’ve found a sweet spot, though, so we don’t adjust the impeller for different fruits.” However, it does get manipulated during CIP processes, he adds. It provides optimized separation because it enables the pool depth inside the decanter centrifuge to be changed while it is running, Curtis notes. Tree Top’s old decanter had a fixed dam, which could potentially overflood the machine. The Flottweg is a closed system so that it can’t pick up any air or foam. Also of note are the decanter’s outboard bearings, which are completely outside of the product zone, Kingston notes. On Tree Top’s previous machines, the bearings were in the product zone, and were notorious for failure. With the new bearings, no product or excess water can get in there, and they typically need to be changed out just once a year.
Future plans Tree Top has been able to recover 38% of the cost of the latest Flottweg decanter in the first year, so Curtis expects about a three-year ROI. The Prosser facility is in the planning stages to get another Flottweg decanter—this time a smaller one for a separate side stream of slurry that it receives as a byproduct from other facilities. Flottweg www.flottweg.com
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/ WEBSITE
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ABB Motors & Mechanical www.new.abb.com/drives/energy-efficiency
1
Atkore Calbrite www.calbrite.com/flex-conduit-and-fittings
40
Bunting Magnetics www.buntingmagnetics.com
11
Cablevey Conveyors www.cableveyconveyors.com
Cov-3
COMPANY
/ WEBSITE
PAGE
Kollmorgen www.kollmorgen.com/uptime
46
Linde www.lindefood.com/vision
31
Lubriplate Lubricants www.lubriplate.com
27
Mennekes www.Mennekes.com
26
Clayton Industries www.claytonindustries.com
43
Munson Machinery www.munsonmachinery.com
Cleveland Gear www.clevelandgear.com
15
PACK EXPO Trade Shows www.PackExpo.com
49
Coppice Allupack www.drbsales.com
16
P.E. North America www.PENorthAmerica.com • www.AxonCorp.com
18
Eriez www.eriez.com
37
ProFood 2021 World Leaders In Processing www.profoodworld.com
53
ROSS Mixers www.mixers.com
23
ESI Group USA www.esigroupusa.com/about-esi/events/
12-A (select issues)
Festo Corp. www.festo.us
39
Flexicon www.flexicon.com
Cover-2
Gericke USA, Inc. www.GerickeGroup.com
2
Graphalloy www.Graphalloy.com Hapman www.hapman.com/profood
SEW Eurodrive, Inc. www.seweurodrive.com
4
Cov-4
Shick Esteve www.shickesteve.com
7
Spokane Industries, Inc. www.spokaneindustries.com
10
42
Urschel Laboratories, Inc. www.urschel.com
25
8
Van der Graaf www.vandergraaf.com/PF
Cov-1
Heat and Control, Inc. www.heatandcontrol.com
44
Volkmann, Inc. www.volkmannUSA.com
45
Industrial Magnetics, Inc. www.magnetics.com
34
Wire Belt www.wirebelt.com
19
Klöckner Pentaplast www.kpfilms.com
5
ProFood World ® (ISSN 2476-06760, USPS 22310) is a registered trademark of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. ProFood World ® is published 6x a year (February, April, June, August, October, December) by PMMI Media Group, 401 North Michigan Avenue Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60611; 312.222.1010; Fax: 312.222.1310. Periodical postage paid at Chicago, IL, and additional mailing offices. Copyright 2021 by PMMI. All rights reserved. Materials in this publication must not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Applications for a free subscription may be made online at www.profoodworld.com. Paid subscription rates per year are $55 in the U.S., $80 Canada and Mexico by surface mail; $130 Europe and South America. $200 in all other areas. To subscribe or manage your subscription to ProFood World, visit ProFoodWorld.com/subscribe. Free digital edition available to qualified individuals. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to: ProFood World, 401 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60611. PRINTED IN USA by Quad Graphics. The opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of PMMI. Comments, questions and letters to the editor are welcome and can be sent to: jfassl@pmmimediagroup.com. We make a portion of our mailing list available to reputable firms. If you would prefer that we don’t include your name, please write us at the Chicago, IL address. Volume 5, Number 2. 52
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TECH PERSPECTIVE JOYCE FASSL | EDITOR IN CHIEF
Advanced Weigh Cell Technology Boosts Efficiency in Packaging Applications Compared to conventional weighing methods, electromagnetic force restoration-based solutions help ensure mission-critical quality control and faster throughput while providing space-saving efficiencies.
R
ECENT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS have made in-motion weighing operations more precise and profitable for food packaging operations. Typically, checkweighers used for food packaging prevent both underfilling and overfilling of products, resulting in brand protection and cost reduction due to less product giveaway, which is eliminated by a checkweigher’s filler feedback technolJim Renehan, senior ogy. This usually results in a machine’s marketing manager for return on investment (ROI) of well Wipotec-OCS. under a year. The latest checkweighers incorporate weigh cells featuring electromagnetic force restoration (EMFR), according to Jim Renehan, senior marketing manager for Wipotec-OCS, a manufacturer and supplier of in-motion product weighing, X-ray scanning, product inspection, parcel dimensioning, package marking, and serialization and aggregation equipment. Wipotec-OCS’s weighing, inspection, and track-and-trace solutions serve a broad array of industries, including food. EMFR technology has proven effective in tough in-motion weighing applications, according to Wipotec-OCS. It eliminates the reliance on bending metal as a primary means of gathering weight data. The optical and electronic methodology approach employed in EMFR weigh cells results in faster settling times and captures more weigh samples as products move over the weigh cells. These checkweighers can deliver more accurate, repeatable weighing results at faster production line speeds compared to conventional strain gauge-based checkweighers. 54
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In addition, active vibration compensation (AVC) is incorporated into some EMFR weigh cells to electronically reduce or eliminate the effect that low-frequency vibrations may have on the weighing results obtained by other checkweighers. These environmental vibrations are common in production facilities and warehouse distribution centers, typically with conveyors, mechanical sorters, forklift trucks, and other machinery. PFW: Please explain how EMFR technology works. Renehan: EMFR systems can be compared to a simple beam balance—though the intricacies are anything but. Incoming weight on the load plate causes the lever arm to leave its nominal resting position. A position detector recognizes this slight position change and forces a coil on the other side of the lever arm to move out of the magnetic field. When this occurs, a photoelectrical beam recognizes any minute deviations in the lever arm position and immediately sends its findings through a measurement resistor, transforming this data into a digital signal via an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The resulting digital weight value is determined by an advanced digital signal processor at exceptionally fast speeds with an internal sampling rate of 1 ms, or 1,000 weight values per second. The weigh cell’s digital signal processor output is sent to the interface connection on the checkweigher or another third-party OEM device or machine. With their quick sampling rates, EMFR-based weigh cells enable extremely accurate weighing results that provide space and cost savings when integrated into existing systems. They also possess high throughput rates, suitable for high-speed
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checkweighers that can capture product weights at rates up to 600 units per minute. Small and midrange checkweighers with EMFR-based weigh cells offer attractive price-to-performance ratios, and all EMFR scales deliver increased plant efficiency, thanks to precise and reliable weighing results. PFW: What are the benefits of EMFR technology? Renehan: Compared to conventional strain gauge scales, EMFR weighing offers a number of benefits. When compensating for a dead load, traditional strain gauge-based checkweighers require a stiffer load cell to process the weight. With strain gauge checkweighers, the resolution of the weighing range declines. Since many load cells like the one illustrated in Figure 1 rely on a relatively large amount of metal bending, they all exhibit a spring-like operational behavior called “ringing.” These types of cells cannot tolerate fast weight changes, because the ringing action must be compensated within the load cell. Dead load weight also needs to be compensated. Since EMFR weigh cells do not rely on large degrees of metal deflection, ringing is not a major concern. EMFR scales balance dead load with far less cumbersome software commands, keeping the weighing range available and the resolution intact. When measuring dynamic performance, EMFR checkweighers have a short settling time and active attenuation provided by the electronic controller, while preventing sensitivity and resolution from changing. This eliminates the need for constant calibration checks. As seen in Figure 2, strain gauge checkweighers generally possess less effective dampening oscillatory systems and a higher resonance frequency when settling, while the stiff load cell reduces sensitivity and resolution, requiring consistent calibration and maintenance. By contrast, EMFR scales are faster, more efficient, and more precise, and require less maintenance than conventional weigh cells. Since EMFR modules accurately acquire product information faster than a load cell, more weight samples per unit of time are achieved. This is one of the reasons EMFR-based checkweighers provide more precise product weigh information at faster throughput speeds. PFW: Can you provide an example? Renehan: The EMFR weigh cell in the checkweigher types, shown in the photo on page 56, is frequently found in the center of the machine, just under the centrally located weight bed conveyor. Checkweighers used in food packaging applications take advantage of the high sample rates of EMFR weigh
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIPOTEC-OCS
Figure 1 shows a bending beam load cell with strain gauges.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIPOTEC-OCS
Figure 2 shows an EMFR weigh load cell vs. the load cell setting time.
cells to deliver accurate package weights at throughput speeds as high as 600 packages per minute. This allows the checkweigher to make quick reject decisions if an item is over- or underweight. Frequently, checkweighers in food packaging applications are placed after the package filler. This allows the user to take advantage of the checkweigher’s filler feedback technology. If the checkweigher sees a series of over- or underweight measurements, the filler feedback loop enables automatic adjustments to the filler to bring the package fill weight back into the acceptable tolerance range. This capability prevents expensive product giveaway errors in the case of package overweight conditions, or dissatisfied customers and/or product recalls due to product underweight situations. Multiple EMFR weigh cells are also incorporated into belted checkweigher designs. The compact design www.profoodworld.com
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possible with EMFR weigh cells makes it a good choice for food packaging applications. The custom checkweigher shown on the left was designed for a cheese packaging application. Each of the five belt lanes has an EMFR weigh cell under the individual weigh bed conveyors, and they operate somewhat independently of each other. However, per the customer’s request, if one package is over- or underweight, then all five packages in that batch are rejected. Also notice the metal detector incorporated into this multitrack checkweigher design. In food packaging applications, it is common to see a checkweigher integrated with a metal detector. The metal detector interface is controlled using the machine’s common HMI, which controls both the checkweigher and metal detector functions for simplified operation. Like the checkweighing function, if any one package is found to have metal present, then all five packages in that batch are rejected. PFW: What is AVC, and how does it enhance EMFR technology? Renehan: AVC is based on fast-sampling (FS) EMFR technology and is an electronic method of removing the key portion of the ambient noise spectrum from a product weight signal using internal software tools. These noise sources are commonly found in factory and warehouse environments and include conveyor sorters and forklift trucks. In just about every distribution warehouse, all available space is used. This means that there are multi-level sorting conveyors placed on mezzanines, and often, the dynamic industrial scale or catchweigher is mounted off the ground in one of these vertical mezzanine levels. Super-rigid mounting platforms are necessary for the dynamic scale to reduce vibrations; an AVC-equipped scale can be mounted using less expensive mechanical mounting options, because the weigh cell will compensate for the vibrations electronically. Figure 3 shows an active vibration compensation (AVC) schematic.
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIPOTEC-OCS
The EMFR weigh cell in the Wipotec-OCS checkweigher models HC-M and C-A shown above is found in the center of the machines, just under the centrally located weight bed conveyor.
Similar mounting advantages come into play with checkweighers equipped with EMFR weigh cells with built-in AVC used in food packaging quality control. Combining EMFR weigh cell technology with AVC sensors enables accurate product weight measurements. A typical AVC implementation involves two weigh cells located inside the EMFR housing, where one of the cells senses ambient vibrations of a certain frequency range. PFW: How does AVC work? Renehan: As illustrated in Figure 3, two weigh cells are mounted inside one EMFR housing; one weigh cell measures vibrations including the load to be weighed (1), while the other measures vibrations only (2). Vibration-based interfering variables are calculated by comparing the two measurement curves in the signal processing section of the EMFR weigh cell (3), where the major vibration components of the load signal are removed. Due to the FS technology, we are able to deduct the disturbing signal from the load weight signal and come up with a “compensated weight value.” The resultant measurement signal is very close to a load signal that would be achieved without any influence through vibration (4). This final weight measurement signal shows a major reduction, if not complete removal, of the negative effects caused by interfering vibrations present in the in-motion checkweigher installation environment. Unlike filtering technology common in strain gauge-based weigh cells, the AVC approach used in Wipotec’s EMFR weigh cells is unaffected when the disturbing signal (i.e., vibration component) occurs within the same frequency range as the information signal or load weight signal. Wipotec-OCS www.wipotec-ocs.com/us/
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIPOTEC-OCS
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