What to Expect in the Process Pigging Industry in 2019?
From new applications for pigging and sustainability to food safety and improving efficiency, here are some of the key trends that are predicted to have a big impact on the process pigging industry in 2019.
If you’ve just come across this page and are unfamiliar with pigging, here’s where you can find out what pigging is and how it works.
8. Rising Demand for Flexible Manufacturing and Solutions such as ‘Pigging’
Consumer tastes and needs are constantly evolving with trends such as ‘free-from’, ‘plant-based’ and ‘reduced sugar’ thriving in the food and beverage industry.
Because customers are becoming more discerning and demanding, this is putting pressure on manufacturers to innovate and introduce new products. This means manufacturers must employ flexible processes and solutions that can handle multiple products.
With even more trends predicted to shake up the sector in 2019, an increasing number of manufacturers will be seeing pigging technology as a solution. Instead of having to use dedicated lines for each product, pigging enables processors to use the same line for more than one product. This increases plant capacity and enhances the flexibility of operations.
7. More demand for Pigging for Plant-Based Food and Non-Dairy Milk
Pigging systems are in wide use with a variety of food and beverage production processes, such as dairy, cheeses, sauces, soft drinks, yoghurts, confectionery, dips, ready meals, health foods, juices, alcohol plus many more.
However, in 2019 it’s predicted that pigging systems will be in wide use throughout the plant-based alternatives market.
The plant-based alternatives industry has gone from being a niche market to fully mainstream and has gained quite a lot of market share in recent years. According to a report by BCC Research, the plant-based milk sector is predicted to reach almost $11 billion by 2019.
With an increasing number of major food and beverage companies capitalizing on the shift toward plant-based food and beverages, pigging systems will become more commonplace in this category. They’ll be used to help processors reduce the risks of contamination, speed up changeovers and cleaning times and increase yields.
6. Sustainability Will Reach New Heights
In the upcoming year, the focus on sustainability will reach new heights throughout the world. As consumers become more environmentally conscious and concerned about how products are made, they will demand that brands be more environmentally responsible and are accountable.
Due to this ever-growing pressure, 2019 will see manufacturers of food, beverage, cosmetics, personal care and many other products, focus their attention on ensuring they have an ethical approach to business. So, concepts such as reducing plastic packaging, energy consumption, and waste disposal will be a key priority for brands next year.
Many businesses will be implementing sustainable green technologies such as pigging to improve their environmental credentials. Because pigging saves so much product and reduces waste and associated disposal costs plus minimises water consumption, it helps manufacturers achieve their sustainability targets. Here’s more about the environmental benefits of pigging.
5. New Applications for Pigging
Process pigging is used in a wide variety of applications including food, drink or beverages, cosmetics, personal care, household products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, pet food, paint, varnish or just about any other liquid or wet product. However, HPS is constantly finding new applications for its products and expertise.
In 2018, HPS received some enquiries for pigging cannabis-infused food and beverages. And it’s expected we’ll see even more enquiries in 2019. Especially considering that the cannabis-related products space is evolving quickly as legalisation rapidly spreads across North America and threatens to shake up the food and beverage industry.
Many corporations are eyeing an entry to the cannabis market to capitalise on the growing trend. It’s certainly an interesting development and we look forward to seeing how this plays out in the upcoming year.
4. BRIC and Other Countries Implementing Pigging Systems
Interest in pigging systems from BRIC and other countries will pick up even more pace in 2019, with more Brazilian, Indian and other countries expected to realise the benefits that pigging offers to liquid processing applications.
Although HPS has a number of customers in India and Brazil, we expect to see a rise in enquiries in 2019 from companies looking to achieve their financial, operational and sustainability goals by recovering residual liquid or ‘wet’ product from pipelines.
3. Food Safety Concerns and the Role of Pigging Technology
Consumers are demanding better food safety and want more information about their food than ever before. Following countless high profile recalls and contamination incidents affecting food and beverage products, customers are demanding higher standards.
2019 will see the increasing focus on food safety, with food firms implementing technologies to reduce the negative impact of a product recall.
With Industry 4.0 gaining further momentum in 2019, food manufacturers will be able to leverage connected devices to alleviate the risks of recalls and manage them more effectively if they do occur.
Pigging will also play a role as the technology will help food manufacturers create accurate, reliable liquid, wet product or ingredient separation in the production process. Therefore, if a contamination incident occurs, food manufacturers will have the traceability to identify the exact root of the problem.
2. More Paint Companies Using Hygienic Pigging to Avoid Cross-Contamination
More paint and coatings companies will turn to pigging in 2019 to help reduce the risks of cross-contamination.
Pigging solutions by HPS are specially designed for hygienic applications. Because the HPS pipeline pig recovers the product and efficiently cleans the line ready for the next transfer, this prevents the build-up of paint residue on the internal wall of the pipeline and restricts bacterial growth.
Liquid transfer solutions will especially be of interest to paint and coatings companies in the upcoming year. As well as enabling pigging for full product recovery, the automatic product distribution system (‘Automatrix’) improves efficiency, enhances safety, lowers chances of human error as well as significantly speeding up changeover and selection times.
1. Improving Efficiency is a Must
With rising raw material costs continuing to affect many manufacturers along with higher competition, the need for automation, and an uncertain trading environment, 2019 will see even more organisations that process liquids place greater emphasis on improving efficiency.
With margins under constant pressure, it’s essential for manufacturers to improve efficiency in every area of their business. Better efficiency in the production process can improve profits, reduce waste, increase yields, maximise the use of high-priced valuable inputs and provide a competitive edge.
Therefore, in 2019 expect to see a rise in manufacturers implementing pigging systems to improve production efficiency and throughput. By pigging liquid processing companies will be able to achieve the same output in less time and requiring fewer resources.
Contact HPS
We hope you enjoyed reading about the trends for 2019 in the process pigging industry. For more information about how an HPS pigging system can improve your processing operations, then please get in touch.