Equipment Round Up: September 2015

Sept. 18, 2015
A monthly round-up of food and beverage manufacturing equipment chosen by our editors.

Automatic control of spray nozzles

The next generation of the AutoJet Model 1550 Modular Spray System, designated the Model 1550+, is a self-contained, compact system providing automatic control of spray nozzles to ensure uniform and accurate placement of the sprayed solution with minimal waste. The system is suitable for coating, marking and lubricating operations. It operates electrically and pneumatically actuated spray nozzles. When used with the company’s hydraulic PulsaJet automatic nozzles, Precision Spray Control (PSC) is possible. Automatic adjustment of flow rate based on line speed, nearly instantaneous adjustment of flow rate and the ability to maintain low flow rates with larger spray orifices to reduce clogging are just a few of the benefits of PSC flow control.

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Spraying Systems Co.; Wheaton, Ill.
630-665-5000; www.spray.com

Lubricants, greases for food applications

Purity FG lubricants are designed for many applications in food processing plants. These specially formulated food-grade lubricants are effective under severe food processing operating conditions — from food acids and juices to by-products and temperature swings. They fit into a HACCP program and carry a full set of food-grade lubricant and grease credentials including NSF H1 lubricants with incidental contact requirements. Purity FG greases resist water washout, water jet spray and most sterilizing chemicals used in cleaning better than many competitive food-grade greases. That reduces the downtime needed for re-greasing.

Petro Canada Lubricants Inc.; Mississauga, Ontario
866-335-3369; www.purityfg.com

Rotary jet mixer

Handle liquid and powder mixing, gas dispersion and cleaning-in-place (CIP) while reducing time, energy and costs with the company’s rotary jet mixer. Based on rotary jet head technology, the mixer can be used in tanks between 100 and 800,000 liters and is equipped with two or four nozzles. Positioned below liquid level in the tank, liquid is withdrawn from the tank outlet by a pump and circulated via an external loop to the mixer. A single mixer can handle liquid mixing, gas dispersion and powder dispersion applications without requiring separate equipment for each process, thereby delivering significant savings, according to the company.

Marshfield Food Safety recently opened a lab for food testing in Springdale, Ark., specializing in process evaluation especially for (but not limited to) the poultry category. A client needing a solution for testing resulted in Marshfield placing a lab onsite. The Springdale lab employs six people but hopes to expand microbial and pathogen testing to other clients in that area in the near future. Marshfield Food Safety performs about 1 million pathogen and microbiological tests at 12 labs across the U.S. and Canada.

Alfa Laval; Richmond, Va.
804-236-1225; www.alfalaval.us

Explosion vents

The company announced two new types of explosion vent product lines. The round Sani-VA sanitary is for demanding "clean" applications, is NFPA 68 compliant and has 3A, EHEDGE and ATEX certifications. The CV-S High Vacuum explosion vent is for extreme vacuum conditions and provides protection in applications such as air-material separation, drying, conveyance and processing operations. The CV-S High Vacuum is built to exceed the NFPA 68 standard.

Fike; Blue Springs, Mo.
816-229-3405; www.fike.com

Sustainable flat tray packaging

The skin tray sealing packing system produces Hybric Flat Tray packaging and creates a sustainable package. Using “Platform Technology,” the package can be made with either a coated paperboard or plastic foundation. According to the company, the patented technology provides excellent communication surfaces and is 80 percent recyclable, if paper is used. The easy to open, vacuum-sealed package offers minimal post-consumer waste compared to all other retail packaging styles. The tray sealers give producers the flexibility and technology to meet changing consumer demands over time with a single investment by creating multiple package styles on one machine.

Harpak-ULMA; Taunton, Mass.
800-813-6644; www.harpak-ulma.com

High-pressure homogenizer

The Pony NS2006L high-efficiency homogenizer for advanced fluid applications is designed for continuous operation up to 1500 bar and is well suited for clean-in-place and sterilization-in-place, ensuring safety, efficiency, and preventing toxic contamination. Said to be ideal for the processing of nanoparticles, nanodispersions, nanoemulsions and cell dispersions, the self-contained, high-pressure lab homogenizer works for the micronization of dairy products, fruit juices, liquid food, food additives and ingredients.

GEA; Bedford, N.H.
603-606-4060; www.gea.com

Box chilling system

Meat, poultry and seafood currently packed with water ice or dry ice in boxes can be chilled more safely and efficiently when using the Dri Pack automated box chilling system, which uses the chilling power of carbon dioxide (CO2) snow. Designed and built to USDA requirements, the system is said to be ideal for meat packing plants as well as poultry and seafood operations, and is intended for use with new or existing packaging operations. The automated chilling system quickly fills boxes (up to about 24 inches wide) with CO2 snow as they travel along a conveyor. The snow does not melt; rather, through the process of sublimation, provides the refrigeration to chill food so there is any never any liquid.

Linde LLC; Murray Hill, N.J.
800-755-9277; www.lindefood.com

Many kinds of magnets

The ProGrade line of magnetic separators includes low-cost Plates, Grates, Traps, Tubes and Sight Glass Magnets in various sizes and strengths to satisfy many food processing applications. And they come in three magnetic power levels: ceramic, rare earth and Xtreme Rare Earth, enabling plant operators to choose the ideal level of protection for their application. Plate magnets installed in chutes, spouts, ducts, pipes or suspended over conveyors remove tramp iron which prevents costly shutdowns from machinery damage. These particular magnetic separators also prevent spark-caused fires and explosions and improve product purity. Grate magnets remove ferrous contamination from dry products such as powders or granules. Ferrous traps remove ferrous contamination from liquid products flowing through two-, three- and four-inch diameter pipelines. Magnetic tubes, available in one-inch diameter (25mm) and from four inches (100mm) up to 24 inches (610mm) in length, remove ferrous contaminants from liquids in tanks, as a quality control check of dry bulk materials and in many other ways.

Eriez; Erie, Pa.
888-300-3743; www.eriez.com

Lube gets HX-1 clearance

High-performance synthetic base stock Elevance Aria WTP 40 has been certified as HX-1 food-grade, expanding the lubricant's current industrial applications to include food processing and other applications requiring HX-1 certification. This high-viscosity, base stock co-polymer has generally recognized as safe status from the FDA. It combines the composition and properties of esters and PAO into a single product that improves seal compatibility, wear resistance and cleanliness due to the superior additive solubility and lower foam across a range of temperatures when compared to traditional PAO-based formulations.

Elevance Renewable Sciences; Woodridge, Ill.
866-625-7103; www.elevance.com

Higher-speed continuous-motion capper

The Beltorque high-speed capper has been redesigned with a servo-driven cap elevator-feeder, which features adjustable cleats and indexes on demand. With speed increased by 50 percent, this continuous-motion capper rivals the high speeds of complex rotary cappers, handling up to 300 bottles per minute with simple mechanics, fast changeovers and low maintenance to ease use and reduce the total cost of ownership. Precise torque and gentle handling maximize product quality. It handles round, oval, square and rectangular bottles made of plastic or glass from 2 to 12 inches (50 to 305 mm) in height and from 0.5 to 7 inches (12 to 175 mm) in diameter with caps made of plastic or metal that are up to 4.75 inches (120 mm) in diameter.

NJM Packaging; Lebanon, N.H.
603-448-0300; www.njmpackaging.com

Glowing hand washing

A new UV LED lamp used in conjunction with Reveal UV glow lotion provides high-impact hand washing training. It produces bright glow effects to show when hands have been properly washed, in the process engaging and inspiring trainees to learn good hand hygiene. It can be used as a stand-alone table-top training solution or mounted in a cabinet. It can also be fitted with a handle making it suitable for use with Reveal UV glow powders to demonstrate how easily germs can be spread.

UV Light Technology Ltd.; Birmingham, England
0121 423 2000; www.uv-light.co.uk

No-tip powder unloader

The No Tip Unloader allows the unloading of drums and bins without the need to lift and tip the bin while also maintaining containment. The company also announced a new bag dump rip and tip station and a new range of post hoists for either fixed or mobile use. New applications for 3D printing as well as the traditional use of the company’s vacuum conveyors for food, pharmaceutical or chemical use will be featured; many showing examples of system integration with bulk material unloading devices.

Volkmann; Bristol, Pa.
609-265-0101; www.volkmannusa.com

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