Precision Blending International’s business consisted entirely of blending and milling dairy powders for food and dairy products until 2010, when a customer asked the company to produce an agglomerated blend of finely powdered raw material to improve its processability in food formulations. “Agglomeration was new for us and required a third process line,” says Dan Carlbom, owner and president.
While the opportunity meant more business for Precision Blending International (PBI), it also presented the challenge of fitting a new line, including equipment to moisturize, agglomerate and dry the material, in a 27,000-sq.-ft. plant. The process line involved a fixed length of machinery and, therefore, limited size options for the drying equipment at the end of the line.