Food and Beverage Industry Case Study: Simpsons Malt

Expel was the perfect tool to completely stop the problem of moisture causing damage to the positioner valves because when Expel is installed at point of use it will remove all liquid water, oil emulsion and solid particulates down to 1 micron all from a single unit.

About the customer

Simpsons Malt Limited was established by J.P. Simpson in Alnwick, Northumberland, back in 1862. It has remained a family-owned and run business throughout its history and has stayed truly independent in what is an ever-changing marketplace.

Simpsons’ customers predominantly use their malted products in the production of beer, whisky and food products and are based both in the UK and abroad. We have supplied malt to companies in more than 35 countries over the last 20 years.

Project Background

At the Simpsons Malt site in Norwich the site has expanded over the years. As a result, the compressed air lines would be exposed to temperature changes across the site because the compressed air has to travel a long distance to reach the point of use. Because of these temperature changes, moisture was building up in the compressed air lines causing a variety of issues.

The positioner valves at the site were of particular concern as moisture was continually damaging the valves which was costing the site £1,000 to replace each time. This was a particularly disruptive issue because each positioner valve is installed in a critical area, making it imperative that downtime is minimised as much as possible.

The air receiver tanks at the site were also causing inefficiencies. The tanks were getting considerably large volumes of water building up which meant they had to be manually drained every 24hours. This problem would lead to a number of problems. Firstly, pressure loss would occur because air would escape the tank when it was manually drained. Secondly, because such a large amount of water was building up in the tanks, it would mean even more water would end up through the airlines damaging pneumatic valves and equipment.

Why did Simpsons Malt choose Original AVG products?

Expel was the perfect tool to completely stop the problem of moisture causing damage to the positioner valves because when Expel is installed at point of use it will remove all liquid water, oil emulsion and solid particulates down to 1 micron all from a single unit. The efficiency of Expel is unparalleled compared to that of a traditional filter. Expel always operates at 99.999% and because it does not contain any replacement filter elements, Expel is able to continually operate at this efficiency level no matter how much it is used. The Site Engineering Manager was exceptionally pleased with the performance of Expel as it completely eradicated the problem of moisture damage to the valves. As a result of this impressive performance, the Site Engineering Manager soon realised he never had to endure problems with liquid water in the compressed air lines again and wanted to ensure the whole site was completely protected against this issue. In addition to protecting the positioner valves, Expel has since been installed in the packaging area and the centri air area.

To solve the problems with the air receiver tank, Site Engineering Manager Matthew Vaughan-Williams decided to install an Original AVG Auto-Drain to the bottom of the tank. The Auto-Drain has zero pressure loss, so absolutely no air is lost during draining, thereby reducing wastage of expensive compressed air. Additionally, the Auto-Drain continuously and automatically drains any water build up, so water will no longer build up in the tank and continue through the air system and cause damage to pneumatic equipment. Furthermore, the engineering team were longer having to remember to drain the water from air receiver tank as it is now done automatically. The Original AVG Auto-Drain has therefore improved the efficiency of the site.