In January 2020, I started as the Editor-in-Chief of FOOD ENGINEERING’s sister publication, Refrigerated & Frozen Foods. At the time, I was looking forward to touring cold foods processing plants and learning about the industry firsthand, which in turn, would make our editorial content stronger, because I’d be writing from experience rather than second-hand information delivered via email and phone calls.
Nol-Tec, bulk material handling equipment and systems provider, and Appcon, provider of powder process and conveying equipment and solutions for the bulk powder processing industry, have formed a strategic partnership to provide a larger selection of bulk material handling equipment and services to food and beverage clients.
The company’s Changeover Champion vacuum conveyor piFLOWp SMART is a self-optimizing vacuum conveyor targeted primarily at industries handling many different materials and/or those in which frequent changes need to be made.
THERMOLuxme is a tubular chain conveyor with the addition of jacketed pipes containing cooling fluid to convey and cool material from 500°F to 110°F and can save food producers money by eliminating the cost and floor space required for a separate cooling stage.
At a glance, it might seem that most conveyors are doing their job as long as they shuttle items from one point to another. However, a number of other elements must be present for a conveyor to be efficient and productive in a food-processing environment, like hygienic design, cleanability, versatility, updated technology and more.
The company’s hygienic, totally enclosed Cableflow tubular cable drag conveyors offer clean-in-place (CIP) options including wiper discs, air knife purge units and brush boxes.