Product Recovery (Pigging) Case Study on Healthy Snacks Manufacturing
How HPS Pigging Systems Are Reducing Waste and Improving Savings in Snack Manufacturing.
Summary
- The HPS client is a popular provider of healthy snacks in Europe, with the brand continuing to enter new markets.
- The client has a product portfolio that includes ice cream, protein bars, sweets, and more.
- HPS Product Recovery Solutions designed, supplied, and commissioned two fully automatic pigging systems.
- The pigging systems are helping the client to increase yields, reduce waste, effluent, and the risk of cross-contamination, and minimise production downtime.
- The HPS client has also improved the sustainability of their production operations by decreasing energy and water consumption.
About the Client
The HPS client is an extremely popular provider of healthy, flavoursome snacks that fit into low-carb, anti-inflammatory diets. Founded in 2016, the client has spent the last 8 years going from strength to strength, with their products now available worldwide.
The client has a product portfolio that includes ice cream, protein bars, sweets, and more, filling a void in the healthy snacks sector.
For confidentiality reasons, HPS is unable to publish the name of this client.
Project Background
The client’s plant was opened in 2022 to manufacture a range of protein bars. The facility transfers the filling for the protein bars from the pre-mixer to the cooker tank and from the cooker buffer tank to either a caramel tank or nut mixer.
After the facility opened, the production team quickly realised that they were losing significant amounts of caramel and cream product during batch changeovers.
At the end of each batch, a large quantity of product would be left in the pipeline. This residual product would then be washed out with hot water, resulting in excessive waste product, creating a lot of effluent, and losing money through inefficiency.
The team at the European facility quickly began looking for ways to combat this challenge.
Why the Company Chose HPS as their Pigging Systems Provider
HPS Advanced Liquid Product Recovery Technology, also known as “pigging”, is used by manufacturers of liquid products to recover products from pipelines for further processing, packaging, and sale.
There are many benefits of pigging, such as increased capacity, faster changeovers, improved environmental sustainability, and, importantly for the client, reduced waste, and improved product output.
After researching pigging online, the client reached out to HPS for advice on how pigging could help them improve their changeover processes and reduce the amount of product being wasted.
HPS has plenty of experience to help the client solve their problem, having worked with several other clients in the confectionery industry, including Lindt, Mondelez, Hershey, and Mars.
During their conversations with HPS System Design Manager, Gary Joines, a solution was proposed that would facilitate efficient product recovery and waste reduction.
The reliability, quality, and cost-effectiveness of HPS pigging technology were key in helping the company to choose HPS as their pigging systems provider.
Key Objectives of the Pigging Project
The client had several objectives that they aimed to achieve by implementing pigging technology into their operations.
Their primary goal was to recover the residual caramel and cream products left in the pipelines, maximising the use of valuable ingredients and minimising waste.
Another critical objective for the client was to eliminate the possibility of batch-to-batch cross-contamination. In confectionery manufacturing, maintaining flavour integrity and managing allergens is crucial.
Reducing downtime was also a key goal and, finally, the client aimed to increase their overall output.
The Solution
Working alongside the client’s team, two lines that needed pigging technology to prevent extensive waste were identified.
The first line transfers product from a pre-mixer to a cooker tank. The second line transfers product from the cooker buffer tank to either a caramel tank or a nut mixer. The two lines have an internal diameter of DN50 and are 25 metres in length.
HPS designed, supplied, implemented, and commissioned two fully automatic single-pig pigging systems.
HPS pigging technology is designed for use in hygienic applications, including confectionery manufacturing, and helps companies increase yields and reduce waste.
The design of the HPS pig allows for bi-directional travel. It also allows for a combination of propellants to be used. The client utilises regulated compressed air to propel the pig through the line and back to its housing.
Additionally, the lack of solid magnet or fins increases the safety and efficiency of pigging by removing the risk of pig breakage and increasing flexibility around bends.
In addition to the systems, the client is also benefitting from HPS AccuTect pig detectors. Using the AccuTects, operators can reliably track the location of the pig and control deployment and return from the HMI/PLC.
The Results
Since implementing the pigging systems in the European facility, the client has seen reductions in waste and effluent and increases in revenue. Pigging technology quickly and efficiently recovers significant quantities of residual product from the pipelines, reducing downtime and the risk of cross-contamination. HPS pigging systems typically recover up to 99.5% of residual product during a pigging sequence.
By removing almost all the product during pigging sequences, cleaning procedures become more effective, preventing any mixing of different batches or flavours. This ensures product quality and safety, which is particularly important for a brand focused on protein bars with various flavours and ingredients.
The client has also improved the sustainability of their production operations by utilising pigging technology.
Traditional cleaning methods can be time consuming, leading to significant production interruptions. By recovering large quantities of product from the pipeline, the client has been able to optimise the quantity of hot water used during changeovers and clean-in-place (CIP) processes. This has also resulted in a decreased quantity of energy being used to heat the water, proving the pigging solutions to be cost-effective. Streamlining the changeover process with pigging technology, has reduced the time required for changeovers significantly.
With less time spent on cleaning and changeovers, and more efficient use of ingredients, the client can boost production volumes without necessarily expanding their physical infrastructure. The improved efficiency allows for higher production capacity, potentially leading to increased revenue and market share.
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