Food Industry Case Study: Cranswick Convenience Foods

“Expel has been taking the water out our lines. We installed them on the slicing lines, they are working well, and we are very happy.”

Robert Henzell – High Risk Engineering Manager

About the customer

Cranswick Plc supply most of the UK grocery retailers and have a strong presence in the ‘food-to-go’ sector and other foodservice outlets, as well as a substantial export business.

Cranswick have a diverse product portfolio, wide ranging customer base and excellent product innovation skills. Brands operating under Cranswick Plc include Bodega, Cypressa, and Ramona’s Kitchen.

Project Background

The Barnsley site has experienced substantial growth over the years and has grown to become the single largest cooked meats production facility within the UK. They supply the retailers with all the key proteins. Because of the size and scale of the site, it means it is essential that production downtime and unnecessary maintenance are minimised 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 which was causing extensive damage to the valves, which would then need replacing. The slicing machines would then be un-operational until the valves had been replaced. The site has 15 slicing lines in operation, so if any valves get damaged, it causes significant hinderance on site efficiency and performance.

Why did Cranswick choose Expel?

High Risk Engineering Manager Robert Henzell was keen to make the compressed air system more efficient and want to finally put a stop to the issues with liquid water in the compressed air lines.

Expel offers a bespoke approach to compressed air filtration. It has been purposely designed so that unlike traditional compressed air filters, the performance will not reduce over time. Rather than retaining compressed air contaminants in a sponge or mesh material, Expel uses Computational Fluid Dynamics to direct liquid water, oil emulsion fluids and solid particulates out of the filter and into an automatic drain. This means Expel offers an unrivalled performance which never reduces over time. This is reinforced by the 10-year guarantee we offer on every Expel unit. It is for these reasons that the site’s High Risk Engineering Manager chose Expel.

Two Expel units have been installed per slicing line which has proved exceptionally successful in protecting the lines. The site has not experienced any problems with liquid water casing damage to machines since the installation of Expel.