Issue_4_2017_2

46
processing & packaging
Fluidised bed technology can help
to improve margins
From the initial particle design concept to successful delivery of a tailor-made plant, Glatt
Ingenieurtechnik takes a unique approach to partnerships that offer many benefits to food
industry clients.
When certain food ingredients
need to be produced with better
margins, fluidised bed technology
can deliver real benefits. It can be
used, for instance, to optimise the
film thickness of a coating, define
the solubility of an instant product
or find the ideal particle size for
dust-free dosing. Fluidised bed
technology is suitable for many
issues that can represent
challenges for food manufacturers,
including taste, appearance, smell
and texture. For example, it can
protect flavours from potential
damage throughout a product’s life
cycle, including during
transportation, on the retail shelf
and in the customer’s home as
well as on its ultimate journey
through the body’s digestive
system.
The key advantage that fluidised
bed systems have over other
drying methods is that several
processes – from spray granulation
and spray agglomeration to spray
coating and spray encapsulation –
can all be performed more
efficiently. They can also be
combined with drying in a single
step.
As a global plant manufacturer,
Glatt Ingenieurtechnik, from
Weimar, Germany, specialises in
developing and supplying fluidised
bed technology, and combines indepth
technical expertise with
professional engineering knowhow
to deliver turnkey production
solutions, even for greenfield
projects.
A stepwise process
Glatt’s work begins right at the
very start of product development,
when a meeting is held with the
potential client to discuss particle
design improvements. Normally
Glatt will propose trails and/or
design work in order to fix
technological requirements and
parameters as well as define
possible scope of supply and
interfaces between client and
Glatt. Once this is agreed,
laboratory tests are carried out at
the company’s technology centre
in Weimar, where Glatt’s experts
work together in teams with the
customer’s product developers.
Project lead times are generally
between one and two years, so
repeated trials are not uncommon.
An intermediate pilot plant step
might sometimes also be
necessary – for large capacity
scale-up projects, for example, or
when significant quantities of
product samples are needed for
market testing.
The next step could be a
conceptual design stage, where
the Glatt team provides clients
with first technology ideas and
technical solution developing PFD
draft, with overview of investment
costs, operating and ancillary
costs, as well as a budgetary
estimate for agreed scope of
supply inside battery limits. For
complex projects sometimes a
basic engineering is necessary in
order to provide a firm quotation.
Depending on after which project
phase the client ordered the plant,
Glatt will provide further
engineering services, including all
specifications, and execution
planning whereby the company
takes care of close communication
to the client in order to provide
customised solutions.
The company also takes care of
the remaining necessary steps,
including transportation and
supervising the construction and
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue four | 2017