Applications in Food and Beverage

Food and Beverage Corrosion resistance :
invest in your savings

Corrosion is no stranger to Food and Beverage. Industry insiders estimate that Food and Beverage spends over $3 BUSD annually to replace equipment and components that have been damaged by corrosion. Not only is corrosion a cause of unscheduled downtime, but can also be a potential product contaminate. 

Installation challenge
In a prepared frozen food facility where quick-fix meals were being packed, the maintenance team installed, in a money saving effort, aluminum in several areas because it was light weight generating savings on installation labor and material cost.

Installation solution

Less than a year later they were pulling it all out to replace it with Ocal® PVC coated conduit systems. Stainless steel is great for corrosion resistance, but it does not always make sense to use stainless steel in certain areas that require superior corrosion resistance. In this type of situation, Ocal® is the perfect product and also comes with a cost savings.

Food and Beverage Liquid ingress protection :
as strong as your weakest point

Liquid ingress is one of the main causes of unscheduled electrical system downtime in Food and Beverage processing. Most manufacturers think that liquid ingress protection only applies to enclosures and specify IP69 to address the issue. But, it’s not enough to protect your electrical system from liquid ingress. There are other ways the liquid can make its way into your Food and Beverage operation.

Situation
The electrical system ingress protection is only as strong as the weakest point in the electrical system. The water is going to follow gravity and settle at the lowest point in the electrical system. If this is your enclosure, then water is still going to get inside of your enclosure.  

Installation challenge
While conducting a  plant electrical system assessment at a potato chip company, an alarming amount of water was discovered in the electrical system. Retracing the path of the water, the culprit was an air hose shoved inside of a conduit. While the placement of the hose was intended to keep water out of the conduit, it actually became the cause of the problem. The Food and Beverage facility was using several different manufactured components which were ill-fitting  and were not rated for ingress protection.

Installation solution 
ABB's IP69 ingress rated flexible conduit system was ready to meet the challenge. It has been almost a year since the IP69 ingress rated flexible conduit system was installed and it is still performing by keeping the water out of the electrical system.

Food and Beverage Extreme Temperature Protection - 
in the middle of the heat

During a plant electrical system assessment at a frozen pizza manufacturer, we came across a situation where the plant maintenance team was having to replace the flexible conduit above the oven once every ten to twelve days. 

Installation challenge
The problem was that the conduit rating was not sufficient to withstand the high temperatures present above the oven. It wasn’t providing adequate  protection for the conductors inside and was damaging the jacket. If the manufacturer didn’t replace the conduit every 12 days, then oven was down and so was their entire operation.

Installation solution
ABB Installation Products recommended a higher rated conduit. ABB’s high temperature flexible conduits with a stainless steel core and stainless steel fitting are engineered for these temperatures. The customer installed ABB’s high temperature conduit and hasn’t had to change the conduit in over a year. Not only have their ovens stayed in operation, they no longer have to replace 8ft of flexible conduit  every two weeks.

 

Food and Beverage Explosion protective :
flammable dust can blow your operation

Excessive build-up dust can put your people, assets and plant continuity in severe danger. 

Installation challenge
A plant electrical system assessment at a huge bakery revealed excessive dust build-up underneath equipment. No one was aware of the dust accumulation or the dangerous condition it presented. The dust accumulation was so much that the accumulation level  was combustible. The danger was magnified by the fact that numerous covers on their electrical system were removed, leaving exposed conductors. 

Installation solution
Once the condition was observed,  the maintenance staff immediately took action and shut down the equipment until a crew cleaned up the dust. While dust may be explosive only after a certain amount of accumulation, it is always flammable. To address this challenge, the facility installed ABB’s explosive proof rated electrical components.  Designed to meet the world's strictest standards in explosive atmospheres these components will help to keep the bakery's employees and assets safe, now and in the future.

Food and Beverage Anti-microbial :
Cleaning those hard to reach places

A huge challenge all Food and Beverage processors face is properly cleaning and sanitizing behind or in between all of the equipment in their processing areas. To do this properly Food and Beverage producers must be able to provide enough space to be able to clean all sides of the equipment. The most difficult spot to clean is when Food and Beverage processors have equipment mounted directly to the wall. There’s just enough space for bacteria to hide and spread but impossibly difficult. 

Installation challenge 
Many Food and Beverage processors started to fabricate or buy existing offsets to give them the room they needed to clean. Nevertheless they were creating an even bigger risk for bacteria contamination because of the material from which the offsets were made. Over time, they discovered that the material they were using to offset the equipment was allowing  bacteria to grow on the offset because they were unable to properly wash and sanitize them. The material absorbed dirty wash down water, trapped food particles and did not prevent bacteria growth.

Installation solution
ABB Installation Products developed SuperClean™ bacteria-resistant wall offsett spacers, to help eliminate the risk for bacteria contamination in daily practise. The SuperClean™ rounded shape more easily sheds contaminates and has no gaps or spaces for old particles to get caught or hide. The microbe-fighting silver ions protect the offset from the growth of bacteria which provides a benefit to the Food and Beverage area in which it is installed.  

Corrosion resistance – invest in your savings

Corrosion is no stranger to F&B. F&B spends over $3 BUSD annually to replace equipment and components that have been damaged by corrosion. Not only is corrosion a cause of unscheduled downtime, but can also be a potential product contaminate. 

Installation challenge
Recently in a prepared frozen food facility who is responsible for packing quick-fix meals, we came across a situation where the maintenance team decided to save some money and install aluminum in several areas because it was light weight saving on installation labor and material cost. 

Installation solution
Less than a year later they were pulling it all out to replace it with Ocal® PVC coated conduit systems.  Stainless steel is great for corrosion resistance, but it does not always make sense to use stainless steel in certain areas that require superior corrosion resistance. In this type of situation, Ocal® is the perfect product and also comes with a cost savings.