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MIXING, WEIGHING & CONVEYING PILOT PLANT FOR PROTEIN BAR DEVELOPMENT
A whey ingredient supplier is taking advantage of
Winkworth’s pilot mixers, which provide a
scalable outcome prior to full capital investment
n preparation for the launch of a new protein bar ready-to-mix product, Winkworth has recently worked with a leading whey ingredient supplier to strengthen their capabilities within the category.
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With the growth in protein bar retail value expected to double in the coming years to 14% CAGR (2019-2023)¹, the customer needed a pilot size mixer that could conduct trials during their development phase to replicate large scale industrial production methods. The customer’s bakery mixers, used for similar pilots, were not able to mix the dense ingredients of whey protein isolate and dairy proteins sufficiently to be effective. The company required a high torque kneading and folding mixer that could effectively mix 5kg batches.
Winkworth recommended their stainless steel MZ10 high shear mixer, suitable for mixing, kneading and blending of dense materials for development. Featuring twin heavy duty Z blades and a manually operated hydraulic tilting mechanism, the 10 litre capacity of the range of laboratory and pilot mixers are small enough to reduce waste, yet large enough to be representative of production reality.
This accurate representation of production performance typically provides a scalable outcome prior to full capital investment. “Throughout this smooth process we had good support from Winkworth - the mixer is ideal for our requirements and is delivering what we hoped for,” commented Winkworth’s
customer. “We are frequently showing the mixer to our customers who, like us, are very impressed with its capabilities.” Winkworth’s technical director, Tim Simpson, said: “Being able to mix small batches means that it is perfect for pilot studies and trials, and with its high torque capability it’s more than capable of mixing dense material. Of course, once the pilot has successfully concluded, we can provide customers with production scale mixers up to 1500 litres batch volumes as required, and larger on request. For the protein/energy bar market specifically, several companies have adopted our larger scale Winkworth Z Blade production mixers, which have proved ideal. ” ¹ Euromonitor International, 2019
Winkworth
www.mixer.co.uk
UPDATED CONVEYOR IS EASILY DISMANTLED IN PLACE FOR CLEANING
piroflow has re-designed its existing Flexible Screw Conveyor (FSC) agitator with an updated version that can be easily dismantled in place for cleaning. The new design can also be retrofitted to existing machines in place of the current standard agitator unit. Used to ensure a consistent flow of product, the agitator can be fitted as an optional extra on Spiroflow FSCs when needed and used to break down bridging material in the flexible screw inlet. Many products being conveyed are not free- flowing, so the agitator helps to create material flow within the equipment. Spiroflow’s standard agitator design required the use of tooled intervention to remove it and take it apart; the new version can be easily stripped down and reassembled in-situ safely as required.
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“In certain situations, it’s important for our customers to have the ability to quickly strip down the agitator to be cleaned by the operator safely, and without the use of tools,” said Spiroflow’s Chris Brennan, technical sales manager. “With the new agitator design, all access is protected by safety interlocks and the gearbox and motor remain in place. There is no need to have plugs and sockets or heavy lifting to
facilitate its removal, so cleaning to be done on the line, thereby saving time in the process. The additional benefit of the new agitator is that it can be retrofitted to existing FSCs.”
www.spiroflow.com
FEBRUARY 2023 | PROCESS & CONTROL 19
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