THE RENTAL ROUTE TO PROCESSING EFFICIENCY
The impact of COVID-19 on UK industry and manufacturing means a new approach to sourcing processing equipment is required, says Aggreko, a leading temporary power, cooling and heating suppplier. As capex constraints tighten, companies are
under more strain than ever to ensure their equipment is as efficient as possible. Yet businesses can circumvent financial obstacles and limitations by thinking outside-the-box when it comes to equipment maintenance and purchasing. The disruption caused across industry supply
chains has been pronounced and prolonged, affecting logistics, workloads and business cashflows, leaving businesses without the capital to upgrade or update their existing equipment and processes. Companies are therefore more reliant on older and less efficient solutions which lead to escalating costs due to breakdown. Others may find themselves with permanent installations that are inappropriately sized for currently reduced demand, and not suited to the predicted spike in activity when the economy rebounds. Aggreko’s latest campaign, ‘Hire Efficiency
Expectations,’ aims to encourage companies to take an innovative approach to optimising their processes and equipment, so they can do
more with less in these testing times. Matt Watson, manufacturing specialist at
Aggreko, said: “In this altered business landscape where purchasing permanent installations may no longer be possible, it becomes even more vital to improve process efficiency. By taking an innovation approach to applications and solutions, process, production and operations managers may be surprised by what savings can be achieved.” A survey of 200 energy managers conducted
by Aggreko in 2019 demonstrated the ‘capex crunch’ problem, with 59 per cent of respondents saying their requests for new equipment to reduce energy consumption had been turned down. The company expects this figure to increase post-pandemic, and with 59 per cent of those surveyed also saying they did not use hire to avoid capex restrictions, different perspectives may be needed. “Industry needs to consider new strategies
when it comes to purchasing equipment and improving process efficiency,” said Watson. “By looking at strategic hire as a viable method of financing new installations, companies can avoid the further capex constraints caused by the coronavirus.” Watson concluded: “Equipment rental gives
businesses a route out of being reliant on ageing, unreliable installations that provide diminishing returns. Additionally, hired solutions are ideally placed to guard against the volatility inflicted by the pandemic. The modular and scalable nature of such solutions allows businesses to react quicker to changing circumstances and the peaks and troughs of demand, while maintaining excellent process efficiency throughout.”
https://www.aggreko.com/en- gb/news/2020/noeur-articles/hire- efficiency-blog-manufacturing
CONVEYOR REPLACEMENT CUTS CLEANING TIME
In Offranville, France, The Taste Workshop specialises in supplying ready to cook dishes for the catering trade. By using the IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) freezing process, the company is able to pre-coat many of these dishes with sauces. The problem was that as the product is conveyed to the packing lines, it starts to de-frost. This leaves a trace of sauce on the conveyer belt meaning a significant amount of time is spent cleaning before a different dish can be processed. A purchase of a Liftvrac to replace the
existing gooseneck slat conveyor has solved a major part of the cleaning issue by reducing the
time spent cleaning to around forty-five minutes from over four hours and, at the same time, has almost eliminated product loss.
www.genesisps.co.uk
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.aquameter.co
www.aquameter.co.uk
STEAM INJECTION IS VEGAN-FRIENDLY
Directly injecting steam as a means of sterilising and diluting liquid drink products is a well- established technique for beverages such as plant-based milk products, which are experiencing a boost in popularity. In response to this increased customer demand for vegan-friendly, plant-based milks, HRS Heat Exchangers has added a new Direct Steam Injection System to its range. The benefit of sterilising using direct steam
injection is the speed of the process, with sterilisation temperatures of 100 to 145˚C being reached in around a second; much quicker than the fastest heat exchanger systems. For products such as plant milks, this rapid heating prevents cooking of the product and the formation of caramel-type compounds which can darken the product or produce unwanted flavours. Some products, such as oat milk, also benefit from
the additional dilution with water which the steam injection provides. However, the method is not suited to all food products, fruit juices being an example. For products where direct steam injection is
desirable, HRS has introduced the HRS DSI Series, which injects food grade steam into liquid products, providing an instant increase in the thermal process.
www.hrs-heatexchangers.com
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PROCESS & CONTROL | SEPTEMBER 2020
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