Food producers face many of the same issues they faced one hundred years earlier: supplying food to new markets quickly and inexpensively, converting to more efficient packaging techniques, convincing consumers that their products are superior to those of their competitors, and finding new ways to transform ordinary foods into elaborate, but convenient products.

While addressing many of these issues, companies face numerous solids handling difficulties. Some companies grow and process raw materials, such as flour and sugar, for use as ingredients by other manufacturers, while most process the ingredients and package the final products for consumers. During production of these materials, manufacturers are likely to encounter basic flow problems such as arching (bridging) and ratholing, which can lead to costly consequences such as caking, spoilage (i.e., microbial growth) thus compromising food safety. Flow problems during manufacture may result in off-spec material and, ultimately, dissatisfied customers. Segregation is also rampant when dealing with blends of materials or products with varying particle sizes. An example of an obvious segregation problem is a drink mix that varies in tartness due to fluctuations in the citric acid content. A less obvious example is packages that are routinely overfilled to ensure they meet the label stated weights. Addressing the nonuniformity of the feed would reduce the need for overfilling.

If your plant is currently experiencing solids handling difficulties, Jenike & Johanson can help you eliminate them. If you are developing a new product, we can utilize our industry-leading technology to help you avoid production mishaps in the future. From silos to packaging, we can help you to improve your bottom line.

KEY ENGINEERING SERVICES

• Surge and packaging hoppers
• Reliable feed to packaging machine
• Sugar conditioning silo designs
• Corn steepening column designs
• Lock hopper and process vessel designs
• Raw material and product silos and feeders
• Final product unloading and packaging systems
• Pneumatic conveying processes
• Feed systems
• Blending operations

In order to formulate an approach to solving or preventing a problem, we need to learn as much as possible about your application to ensure that handling problems do not occur with the new equipment.

TYPICAL PROJECT APPROACH

• Plant visit for troubleshooting and understanding plant and system requirements
• Flow properties testing of bulk solids
• Root cause analysis of handling/feeding/conveying problems
• Functional design of solids handling equipment
• Detailed engineering design of equipment
• Supply of custom designed equipment

For over forty years, our team of experienced engineers has been providing proven technology solutions that are cost-effective and safe. Contact Jenike & Johanson to help you solve and prevent bulk solids handling problems.