Today’s food processors are always looking for new and better ways to differentiate their products and gain a competitive advantage. Often this translates into unique new flavors, formulations or packaging. Yet, while such innovations often produce winning products, they also introduce another challenging requirement: new and improved food products generally demand new process equipment.

Acquiring the right process equipment, such as homogenizers or stainless steel vessels, may seem like a routine procedure, but in reality, this is seldom the case. When done correctly, most food processing systems—particularly those involving new or modified products—are actually one-of-a-kind specialty systems.

“Most food processors regard their formulations and processes as proprietary trade secrets which must be safeguarded to maintain a competitive edge in today’s marketplace,” says Bob Knoll, a principal of the Food Processing Equipment Group at Anderson Dahlen, one of the nation’s manufacturers of custom food processing equipment. “Producers should partner with well-established equipment suppliers with good reputations when designing specialty equipment or processes. The processor and supplier can then work together to develop long-standing relationships. This ensures the best interests of both the processor and supplier—and that the equipment or system is designed, constructed, and supported after the sale to make the project a success.”

Given the proprietary nature of the food industry, especially in an unpredictable economy, there are several factors to consider when sourcing new and replacement process systems. Taking into account the risks and complexities of designing, installing and maintaining food process systems—particularly liquid process systems—here are five considerations for making vendor relationship decisions that will improve your chances of success

Ability to Meet Turnkey Requirements
“No two customers’ needs are ever the same,” Anderson Dahlen’s Knoll explains. “They may be making similar products, but they have different formulations. They have different recipes and processes, and therefore each system is unique and designed to meet individual customer’s requirements.”

In the “old days,” the end user would purchase system components, or have a contractor purchase items such as tanks, heat exchangers and valves, then ship everything to the customer’s plant where components would be fit together, together, mounted on the floor and tested.

“Today that approach has been greatly improved,” says Knoll. “The first step is to analyze the process. We consult with the customer’s project team and then lay it all out in a 3D model, so we show the customer what it’s going to look like before the system is finalized. That enables their project team, including engineers, operators and maintenance people, to see the system before it’s built so they can ensure that all stakeholders’ requirements have been satisfied. For example, they can evaluate any concerns, such as ergonomic issues about loading and unloading ingredients, into the system. Maintenance people are always interested in how are they going to get access to change out a pump seal or replace a motor when it wears out. So, we can address those concerns ahead of time through 3D modeling of the system, then validate that the project team is satisfied before we go ahead and build the system.”

Knoll adds that if the system is done correctly, it becomes virtually a drop-in installation that takes relatively little installation time at the customer’s facility. Typically, the installation involves setting the new equipment in place, connecting up any required utilities such as water, steam, or compressed air and connecting up the process lines to the equipment. The Control systems can be supplied as standalone systems, or be integrated into an existing control system.

Ability to Meet Standards
As obvious as it may seem, the ability of a vendor to meet sanitary, metallurgical and mechanical standards such as American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) code should and not be taken for granted.

Vendors of specialty process equipment should have in-house ability to meet ASME code for tanks, as required increasingly by food industry members. Some cannot meet code specifications in-house, and must purchase tanks from outside manufacturers, thereby adding to costs and fabrication time, and possibly compromising turnkey responsibility.

Many food processors outside of the dairy industry are adopting 3-A Sanitary Standards to ensure that the process equipment is designed and constructed in a sanitary fashion. It may be highly advisable for a food processor to require that their process equipment meet the requirement of a published standard.

In addition, the vendor should provide guidance on metallurgical standards and safety considerations. For instance, when process equipment incorporates dissimilar metals, such as aluminum and stainless steel, an insulator should be provided to avoid corrosion that can result from a galvanic reaction.

Vendor’s Supplier Resources
When it comes to turnkey projects, most vendors must outsource some components from suppliers of their own. Such items as pumps, valves, filters, strainers, heat exchangers and instruments are available from first-rate suppliers who have distributorships available to qualified senior contractors.

Consider the brands and purchasing levels of your turnkey vendor for such outsourced components. Both can have a major impact on the cost and quality of your project. Additionally, components ranging from heat exchangers to controls can have significant bearing on project integration and delivery time.

Size Matters
Although most engineers and designers probably would not go to a “shade tree” mechanic to fix their auto transmission, it is not uncommon for a designer or engineer to hire a job shop (perhaps inadvertently) even for rather sophisticated work such as complex process systems.

Larger vendors can offer comprehensive in-house services and take on larger, sophisticated turnkey projects such as shop-built skid packages. They are able to provide the labor and complete services for liquid handling as well as fabrication of systems for batching, cooking, mixing and compounding as well as creation of slurries and emulsions. Because the fabrication, machining, piping and pre-installation are completed in-house, the larger manufacturer can turn projects around in a much more cost-effective manner than many smaller shops or those who rely on multiple subcontractors.

Experience and Reputation
“Designing a specialty process system to meet the needs of a producer can be a complicated business. Look to suppliers who have been in the business for many years and to those who have served other segments of the food industry other than yours. Many times, it is helpful to draw upon experience from an unrelated industry to help solve a complex problem. Suppliers who have been in the business of providing this type of equipment for many years will have a wealth of information to draw on to help solve a particular processing challenge,” Knoll says. “

Knoll mentions that his firm has recently expanded facilities and staff to meet the growing demand for specialty process systems and equipment. Expansion includes added investments in the latest manufacturing technology, from state-of-the-art machine tools, training of personnel and the latest engineering and manufacturing software.

For more information, contact Anderson Dahlen, Inc, 6850 Sunwood Drive NW, Ramsey, MN 55303; Phone: 763.852.4700; Fax: 763.852.4795; E-mail sales@andersondahlen.com; www.andersondahlen.com.