Food Industry Case Study: Cranswick Convenience Foods
“Expel has been taking the water out of our lines. We installed them on the slicing lines, and they are working well. We are very happy.”
Robert Henzell – High-Risk Engineering Manager – Cranswick Convenience Foods.
Project Background
Cranswick’s Barnsley site has experienced substantial growth over the years and has become the largest cooked meats production facility in the UK. They supply the retailers with all the essential proteins. Because of the size and scale of the site, the engineering team must minimise production downtime and unnecessary maintenance as much as possible.
Issues with water in the compressed air system were causing frequent and frustrating problems at the site. For instance, water was reaching their pneumatically operated slicers, causing extensive damage to the valves, which would need replacing. The slicing machines would then be un-operational until the engineers replaced the valves. The site has 15 slicing lines in operation, so if any valves get damaged, it causes a significant hindrance to site efficiency and performance.
Why did Cranswick choose Expel?
High-Risk Engineering Manager Robert Henzell was keen to improve the compressed air quality by stopping the issues with liquid water in the lines.
Expel offers a bespoke approach to compressed air filtration. Original AVG has purposely designed Expel so that the performance will not reduce over time, unlike traditional filters. Rather than retaining contaminants in a sponge or mesh material, Expel uses physics to discharge 99.999% of all liquid water, oil emulsion fluids and solid particulates out of the filter and into an automatic drain. Therefore, Expel offers an unrivalled performance, which remains consistent. The 10-year warranty on every Expel unit guarantees this revolutionary technology will remove liquid water, oil emulsion fluids and solid particulates down to 1 micron without requiring any replacement parts. For these reasons, the site’s High-Risk Engineering Manager chose Expel.
Two Expel units have been installed per slicing line, protecting the lines perfectly. The site has not experienced any problems with compressed air contamination since installing Expel at the point of use.
THE RESULTS
Reduced downtime
Reduces costs
Increased efficiency
