Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!

Avoiding a sticky situation

November 4, 2004
Marshmallow producer boosts production with pneumatic conveying system.

Doumak’s marshmallow production was improved when the company switched to a pneumatic conveying system. Source: VAC-U-MAX.
Marshmallow manufacturers usually can't avoid sticky situations because ingredients such as starch, flour and sugar make their production processes dustier, stickier and messier than most. And for plant managers charged with streamlining marshmallow production, conveying these materials via bucket elevators can eat away at production efficiency due to unnecessary downtime, cleaning and maintenance.

To clean-and speed-things up, Elk Grove Village, IL-based marshmallow producer Doumak, Inc., decided to eliminate the use of bucket elevator conveying systems.



"With their many moving parts, bucket elevators can be costly and time-consuming to maintain," says Mike Morgan, maintenance supervisor at Doumak. He estimates that the dusty environment reduced equipment lifespan by as much as 50 percent.

Cleaning such equipment required production downtime, as well. "Excess starch ended up in the bucket elevators, in bagged product and on the floor," says Morgan. In addition, marshmallows were regularly caught in the bucket elevator's pinch points, which made the equipment sticky and compromised product quality.

To solve the problem, Doumak installed two pneumatic conveyor systems from VAC-U-MAX to deliver finished marshmallows from processing to packaging. Now instead of bucket elevators dumping marshmallows into packaging machines at an inflexible pace, vacuum receivers pneumatically convey the marshmallows through six FDA, USDA-approved hoses to the packaging machines on demand.

"With pneumatic conveying, there's virtually no maintenance or cleaning necessary because they have fewer moving parts," says Morgan. "We just clean or swap out hoses and check the motor and oil twice a year. That adds about 30 hours a year to production, compared to monthly preventive maintenance on 20 or so moving parts for bucket-elevator systems."

With the VAC-U-MAX systems, vibratory pans shake excess starch from the marshmallows as they exit the cooling drums. The starch goes through filter separators and is recycled back to manufacturing for reuse. "The systems reclaim about 1,000 pounds of starch a day and reduce product loss by up to 2 percent," says Morgan. "They put the starch back to good use, unlike our old bucket elevators."

Eliminating the pinch points associated with Doumak's bucket elevators reduced excess starch in bagged marshmallows, which improved product quality. "Less physical contact means there are fewer places for sensitive product to get pinched or damaged," says Morgan.

An additional benefit of these pneumatic conveying systems is that they require 70 percent less factory floor space than the bucket elevator systems that were previously in place. The extra floor space allows Doumak to store raw materials next to the production line, saving travel time to restock at a central supply location.

"With pneumatic conveying systems, product quality is better and production is up to 15 percent more efficient than with traditional equipment like bucket elevators," says Morgan. "That's important for those of us in the food or confection industries, where 24/7 plant operation is common and downtime must be kept to an absolute minimum."

Doan Pendelton, VAC-U-MAX,
888-241-6992,
info@vac-u-max.com

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    Latest headlines
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Food Safety
    By: Richard F. Stier
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

Food Plant Openings and Expansions June 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions June 2025

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

More Videos

Popular Stories

Cargill Cocoa Plant

Cargill Invests in its Cocoa Supply Chain

Campbell’s Utah plant

Going for Gold(fish): Inside The Campbell’s Company’s $160M Cracker Plant Expansion

Chicken Alfredo Listeria Products

Listeria Outbreak Connected with Pre-Made Chicken Alfredo Meals Results in 3 Deaths

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

July 10, 2025

Smarter Innovation With AI: How the F&B Industry Can Stay Agile

Join our webinar to explore how practical AI solutions are helping leading brands reduce compliance risks, streamline reformulation and accelerate time-to-market.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • cleaning equipment fresh pizza

    Making the most of a sticky situation

    See More
  • Sticky Situation Goes With The Flow

    See More
  • Sticky Situation Goes With The Flow

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • statical.jpg

    Statistical Process Control for the Food Industry: A Guide for Practitioners and Managers

  • social media white paper

    Optimizing Social Media from a B2B Perspective

  • military-food-engineering.gif

    Military Food Engineering and Ration Technology

See More Products
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!