Case Studies (copy 1)

Cheese production in the United States is a growing industry that continues to evolve. Cheese manufacturers are constantly seeking ways to enhance the efficiency of their production processes and ensure the quality of their products. A crucial component of this effort involves processing cheese blocks into grated cheese, which is then packaged in various sizes to meet the needs of the retail and hospitality sectors. Another vital aspect of this process is the precise dosing of starch blends and spices to prevent the grated cheese from sticking together and to achieve different flavour profiles.

HECHT Technology specializes in innovative solutions to improve process efficiency and has developed a tailored solution for one of the largest American cheese manufacturers. This project includes the implementation of state-of-the-art conveying and dosing systems.

Challenges in Cheese Production and Bulk Material Processing

Processing bulk materials in cheese production is demanding. Incorrect dosing or distribution of ingredients such as lactic acid cultures, rennet enzymes, spices and colourings can impact product quality. To address these challenges, cheese manufacturers rely on highly precise machinery.

Efficient Big Bag Discharges and Filling Stations

The discharge of Big Bags and the filling of sacks and barrels are critical steps.

Specialized machines are employed for:

Big Bag Discharges:

An automated Big Bag discharge system ensures controlled, clean, and rapid unloading of bulk materials. By avoiding manual interventions, product safety is increased, and workload is reduced. The selection of the appropriate discharge system is essential for minimizing product loss and contributing to process efficiency. In this case, a chosen solution is an outlet connection system specifically customized to the customer's needs.

Dosing Devices: Precision is key. Dosing devices enable accurate feeding or withdrawal of bulk materials to ensure consistent formulations. Automated dosing devices guarantee consistent quality and save time. Precise calibration of dosing devices to the specific properties of bulk materials, including grain size, flow behaviour, and density, is of utmost importance. Precise dosing achieves a homogeneous product quality that meets customer expectations.

Filling Stations for Sacks and Barrels:

Specialized filling stations ensure efficient and hygienic packaging of cheese products. Sacks and barrels are filled and sealed precisely to maintain product integrity and freshness. Hygiene is crucial, especially in food packaging, and integrated cleaning systems and easily cleanable materials are essential features. Proper packaging and sealing not only protect against contamination but also extend the shelf life of the end product.

The combination of efficient Big Bag discharges, dosing devices, and filling stations not only ensures quality and consistency but also enhances productivity and competitiveness. In an industry that is constantly evolving, such innovations are key to success.

The Process in Detail

Manual Feeding of Cheese Blocks: Large cheese blocks are manually placed on a conveyor belt in the goods receiving area by employees.

Cheese Grinding: The cheese blocks are transported to the production area, where they are ground into grated cheese.

Dosing of Starch Blends: Various starch blends (e.g., potato, tapioca) and spices (e.g., Tex-Mex) are dosed onto the ground cheese to prevent sticking.

Mixing in the Container: The ground cheese and starch are thoroughly mixed in a container.

Packaging: The grated cheese is finally packaged in bags of various sizes, including small bags for retail and large bags for the hospitality industry.

Innovative Technology

A crucial element of this efficiency improvement is the starch blending dosing system by HECHT Technology. Starch blends are delivered in so-called FIBC's, which are unloaded in FIBC discharge stations in a separate area. From there, they are conveyed into the production area using PCC vacuum conveyors.

HECHT Technology's PCCs are located on walkable ceilings above the production area, ensuring a smooth material flow. Starch blends are discharged from the PCCs through long three-part chutes into dosing differential scales. These highly precise scales does the starch blends directly onto the conveyor belts, ensuring precise and uniform distribution.

In addition to the main components of the system, such as stainless steel conveyors and vacuum lines, vacuum pumps, sack chutes for small quantities, buffer hoppers, magnetic separators, and operator platforms, HECHT Technology's support structures and controls have been specifically tailored to meet the requirements.

Conclusion

The challenges of cheese production require innovative solutions to meet quality standards and remain competitive. The implementation of innovative conveying and dosing systems by HECHT Technology has significantly increased efficiency in cheese production. With a conveying capacity of up to 700 kg/h and a conveying distance of up to 90 m horizontally + 6 m vertically, the system ensures not only higher production capacity but also consistent quality of the end product. This example illustrates how innovative technology can revolutionize production processes in the food industry to enhance efficiency and ensure quality.