We had a fast-growing dip manufacturer approach us with a challenge whereby they needed to speed up the cooling process of their product. The main reason for this was their business was expanding, and they needed to be able to make and cool product batches at a much faster rate to increase their throughput.
With this outcome in mind the Teralba engineering team were put to work to create a heat exchanger solution to cool their product to under 5 °C. The first questions we had to ask was what viscosities is the heat exchanger required to process? After running lab scale tests at our facility in Campbelltown, we were able to accurately establish the viscosities of the products we were required to process. The thickest product being Taramasalata, for anyone who’s enjoyed this dip they know that it’s thick and especially viscous at 5°C! So, there was Teralba’s challenge, we needed to be able to cool this product through the heat exchanger and then pump it through to the filling machine.
Teralba’s design and engineering team, developed a solution using the following products:
- Dimpleflo® Tubular Heat Exchanger Model: 8U 38 76 102 3000 I
- Product transfer pump
- Product key station
- Filler divert valve
- CIP dosing and control
This project of course wasn’t without its challenges, it took many painstaking trials to find a suitable pump that would maintain the correct flow velocity through the heat exchanger. The team used a piston pump that had the ability to process at 500 kg/hr.
The Final Outcome
Prior to approaching Teralba the dips were taking an average of 7 hours from the time they were made to the time they were completely cooled ready to be packed on the truck to be distributed to grocery stores around Australia. As a result of implementing Teralba’s Dimpleflo® heat exchanger and Thermpro™ cooling system it now takes only minutes from the time the product batch is made to the time its packed ready to go on the truck. The implementation of this system means that the dip manufacturer has removed the need for a cool room to cool their product. As a result, they are not only cooling their product faster, but they have significantly decreased their labour costs and energy usage. It’s a solution that all expanding food manufacturers have the opportunity of reaping the benefits, simply by reaching out to us today.
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