FOOD & BEVERAGE
TAILORED TO HELP KEEP IT CLEAN
W
a single combination system is another exciting development. Metal detectors and X-ray systems offer different but complementary ways to screen for contaminants. The addition of vision systems can provide labelling and pack fill checks, as well as ensuring pack separation as products are fed onto inspection machine conveyors.
Intuitive data management and the accessibility of AI now make it possible to integrate any combination of these inspection technologies – metal detection, checkweighing, X-ray and vision. When integrated into a single system, this synergistically enhances the performance of each technology. The addition of vision to all these inspection technologies is especially exciting as it can allow for the collection of comprehensive data on each inspected pack. In the future this could include details on weight, size, visual integrity, contaminant detection results and adherence to quality standards.
Fortress Technology
www.fortresstechnology.co.uk
UKManufacturing Winter 2025/2026
hen it comes to food processing, ensuring the highest hygiene standards is critical for reliable and
safe production outcomes.
Faced with stringent cleaning requirements and the use of harsh disinfecting chemicals, a food processing company needed a cleaning solution that was both effective and reliable. To address this challenge, the company partnered with Membracon - an OEM - and IMI to develop a bespoke machine cleaning system, ensuring food processing equipment could be efficiently cleaned after each production shift. By combining expertise of IMI Norgren pneumatic control with IMI PBM advanced valve technology, Membracon was able to deliver a robust, efficient, and safe solution tailored specifically for its customer. The challenge was to create a robust system to produce the required volumes of disinfectant on-site to be used in the daily cleaning process. The disinfectant - made from four separate chemical ingredients stored in barrels - is mixed into a single barrel for use. However, the ingredients are extremely aggressive, requiring a system able to handle them without compromising safety or performance. To meet the challenge, Membracon designed a mixing machine that uses IMI PBM pinch valve technology to control the flow of the challenging ingredients. The pinch valves are pneumatically actuated and are ideal for this application as the media never comes into contact with the valve itself. Instead, the valve
pinches the tube carrying the media, ensuring ongoing durability and safety.
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FROM IMI To deliver precise and effective control, Membracon integrated an IMI Norgren VM10 valve island. This provides centralised control capability to manage multiple valves simultaneously. The valve island controls all the pinch valves and ball valves which help to streamline the system. The additional specification of IMI Norgren Excelon Plus Pressure Regulators ensures precise pressure control for the valve island when in use. By integrating IMI Norgren valve islands and pressure regulation components with IMI PBM high-performance pinch valves and diverter valves, the system was designed to ensure every element worked seamlessly together. Lourens Derksen, team leader field sales BE and NL for IMI’s Industrial Automation sector, says: “This collaboration across IMI sectors brought together complementary expertise to deliver a seamless solution. The food processing company now has a reliable, on-site disinfectant production system which can handle harsh chemicals and maintain stringent cleaning standards. The partnership that brought together Membracon’s expertise and IMI’s extensive range of high-performance pneumatics and valve components, has delivered a system solution that is both effective and durable.”
IMI
www.imiplc.com 19
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