search.noResults

search.searching

saml.title
dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Food & beverage Surviving the ‘new normal’


brian foster, Siemens financial Services, uK, explains why investing in agile technologies is key to a resilient food and beverage industry


can also accurately meter a wide range of product consistencies – from thin to highly viscous, abrasive to sticky.


4 removing Spent grainS, draff and hopS


by-products of beer and spirit production include spent grains, draff and hops. at the end of the mashing process, they need to be transferred rapidly to storage tanks or silos to enable production to continue. They are then further transported for use as animal feed, as additives in bakery products, for energy generation in biogas plants or to produce biofuel. The methods of removing spent grain or draff


vary according to the size of the brewery. Small breweries favour manual removal, whilst larger breweries or distilleries tend to use compressed air units (also known as pneumatic expeller units). However, brewers and distillers can significantly reduce their costs by pumping these residual materials instead. open hopper PC pumps with auger feed systems can transport the spent grain or draff within a closed pipe system over hundreds of metres. and as expeller units account for one of the highest utility costs in the industry, this has the additional advantage of reducing energy consumption. Seepex’s Smart air Injection (SaI) technology is


also ideal for this application. SaI can efficiently convey 15-40 per cent dry solids (ds) spent grains, draff and hops in plugs of 20-30m length, over distances of up to several hundred metres using controlled air pulses. SaI combines progressive cavity pumping with pneumatic dense-phase conveying to increase process efficiency and productivity, as well as reducing energy consumption. In a spent grain handling test at a UK brewery, conveying efficiency using SaI was evaluated to assess the air consumption savings compared to the existing pneumatic expeller. The test demonstrated the potential to reduce air consumption by ~90 per cent for the mash tun discharge of spent grain into the bulk storage, and by ~80 per cent for the hops discharge.


improved bottom line In conclusion, by moving away from traditional and inefficient product handling methods towards innovative, problem-solving PC pump solutions, brewers and distillers can maintain their product quality, reduce their energy consumption and increase their production capacity. by optimising their entire operation and increasing their plant’s overall efficiency, PC pumps are helping brewers and distillers to remain profitable despite the pandemic pressures.


Seepex uK www.seepex.com


T


he economic impact of the current pandemic is expected to be significant and prolonged. Last year, the food and beverage


industry has had to rapidly adapt to changing circumstances and patterns of consumption – be it suppressed or increased demand. Companies who had invested in agile


technologies and machinery were best placed to react to shifting market demands with optimal flexibility when the crisis hit. Companies with automated and digitalised production units were less affected by the lockdown-induced staff shortages, for instance, making them more resilient. Surviving recent disruptions required business agility on all fronts – and companies that were not sufficiently equipped for a drop in demand were faced with a lack of cold storage for perishables, for instance. Conversely, manufacturers equipped with ‘digital twins’ were able to simulate coronavirus impact scenarios and react quickly and effectively in volatile situations. The challenges inhibiting investment,


however, are considerable. The latest report from Siemens Financial Services (SFS), “rising to the new challenge: the role of Smart Finance in helping navigate the economic ‘new normal’”, conservatively estimates that over the next five years $567 billion in investment funds are needed for digital transformation alone in the global food and beverage industry. Nonetheless, the incremental increase in annual revenue that manufacturers can stand to gain from digitalising their processes is significant. research from SFS has shown that manufacturers can stand to gain an additional 6.3 – 9.8 per cent of their annual revenues from bringing digitalisation into their manufacturing operations. even as the crisis recedes, food and


beverage companies will need to integrate business agility into their operations if they are to cope with continued uncertainty and volatile markets. Looking to future competitiveness and resilience in the “new normal,” sensor technology and machine learning are already being used by the brewing industry to predict when beer moves from fermentation to the free rise phase – effectively “teaching” technology to predict when it is ready for the next stage of production. Similarly, artificial intelligence (aI) has been employed to identify hazards in milk or detect machinery faults before they occur. all of these applications help to minimise downtime, prevent spoilt batches and increase the operational efficiency of the production line. aware of the enhanced operating agility and efficiency that digitalisation offers, 74 per cent


of SMes in the industry have already made steps towards improving production processes through digital technologies. In times of crisis, however, investment appetite tends to shrink as companies feel a need to focus on shorter- term returns and on staying afloat rather than looking to modernise existing equipment through longer-term investments. That being said, commentators suggest that companies who continue to invest even throughout difficult economic situations typically emerge ahead of their competitors. This means that the pandemic and its economic aftermath have in fact made the importance of investing in new technology more important – not less. Previous research from SFS estimated the window of opportunity left to gain competitive advantage from investing in digitalisation to be five to seven years away. after this point, manufacturers having not invested may struggle to ever catch-up. To provide food and beverage manufacturers


with a financially sustainable path through the current challenging environment, smart financing models are emerging. Smart finance for digital transformation in manufacturing tends to come from integrated specialist financiers, where the funder understands the technology, the sector, the applications and the operating pressures. Using this knowledge, they can create and align financing structures that are focused on achieving recognisable and clearly identified desired business outcomes. The consensus among global analysts is that it is critical to maintain new technology adoption even in times of economic difficulty. Moving towards smart factory technologies can put manufacturers in a better position to bounce back from the crisis and minimise the impact of future changes in consumer behaviours.


Siemens financial Services www.siemens.com


FaCTorY&HaNdLINgSoLUTIoNS | aPrIL 2021 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54