Case study – Food belt’s superb release properties minimize sticky residue
Food producers today face a vast range of challenges. Not only must they comply with increasingly stringent food safety requirements, they also need to ensure the highest quality product while maintaining the reliability, productivity and profitability of their manufacturing operations.
Using the right conveyors and belts for the particular manufacturing application is key to this. At Habasit, we are often contacted by producers who are struggling with the results of installing a poorly performing belt. Their experiences are instructive.
In one case, an energy bar producer was running four belts in series on a cooling line, and using cacao butter to prevent the very sticky bars from adhering to the belts. Unfortunately, due to the installed belts’ poor release properties, even with daily cleaning and a worker constantly monitoring the line and clearing residue accumulation, the belts had to be replaced after just one month.
In situations like this, it is essential to find a food belt with the required release properties to ensure a long and reliable lifetime. Easy cleanability, easy release, frayless edges and hydrolysis resistance are indispensable.
Habasit Cleanline CNB-6EB-A1 food belt offers long lifetime and excellent release
After looking at all aspects of the energy bar producer’s application, our engineers recommended the Habasit Cleanline CNB-6EB-A1. This food-suitable belt (EU-, FDA- and Halal compliant) is well-established in the food processing industry across many segments. The TPO conveying side with non-adhesive properties, making it perfect for dealing with very sticky foodstuffs that need easy release. Easy cleanability, frayless edges, and hydrolysis resistance are further properties.
Once installed at the food producer’s facility, the new belt provided excellent service over a lifetime of three years. Furthermore, the customer no longer needed to use cocoa butter, thus saving on production costs. It was also no longer necessary to have a worker constantly on line surveillance, and the cleaning process was reduced by 1 hour/day.
Overall, the food producer experienced excellent benefits and valuable savings from installing the CNB-6EB-A1 belt:
- Belt lifetime increased by 36 times from 1 month to 3 years
- Savings on cocoa butter – no longer necessary for production process
- 1 hour less cleaning per day with associated increase in productivity and reduction in costs
- No further need for a worker to constantly monitor the line operation
Total annual savings: EUR 20,000
If you are facing particularly difficult food production challenges, or want more information on the wide range of food processing belts available from Habasit, please contact us.
