The food industry is a major contributor to the Swiss economy, generating around CHF 35 billion or 3% of GDP, and the dairy industry is a major contributor, producing products that are very popular at home and abroad. Züger Frischkäse AG is one of the country's largest dairy manufacturers, employing some 300 people at its main plant. It processes some 2.8 million litres of milk into more than 150 different types of fresh cheese products, such as cottage cheese, mozzarella and mascarpone.
The familiar challenges of achieving ongoing sustainability, improving processing systems and meeting strict legal requirements were key factors in Züger's exploration and exploitation of technological advances. A particular focus has been on how to optimise their CIP (cleaning in place) processes. This has resulted in significant savings in water and cleaning media, thanks in part to sensor specialist BAUMER.
Short reaction times
Baumer's extensive range of sensors, encoders and measuring instruments includes the CombiLyz® conductivity sensor, a sensor designed to provide industry-leading precision combined with impressive speed. Züger uses the CombiLyz® sensor for phase separation of food materials, water and detergents during the critical CIP phase. The CIP control system receives an accurate measurement from the sensor in just 15 seconds, thanks to the short response time of the temperature compensation. This ensures that the control system can react quickly to the individual phases, with fast and accurate control values. This is crucial to avoid the serious consequences of a faulty or delayed measurement signal. In the worst case, for example, the CIP tank could be flooded and the plant shut down.
The Benefits…
Urs Koster, Divisional Manager for Technical Maintenance at Züger comments, “Whilst our priority was to avoid the consequences of a faulty or delayed measuring signal, we also wanted to optimise efficiency, which is why the quick and reliable reaction of the CombiLyz® sensor is so important”.
He confirmed, “The success of the optimisation of our CIP procedures is significant, now we consume up to 30% less in cleaning agents, up to 50% less disinfectant and up to 100,000 litres less water per day”.
The design of the CombiLyz® features a PEEK plastic cover as part of a one-piece hygienic design, and is important for its ability to provide rapid temperature compensation, as well as housing the inductive sensor elements for measuring electrical conductivity and the temperature sensor. The sensor tip has a low thermal mass and low thermal transition resistance. This enables the sensor to respond very quickly, even to large temperature changes. While sensors with two-piece covers, where the temperature sensor is located underneath metal, are slightly faster, the frequent temperature changes in this type of CIP application put additional thermal stress on the plastic-to-metal transition. The result is frequent cracking, which can lead to sensor failure, making them unsafe for use in food processing applications.
