New tank farm from GEA saves space and money and expands capacity for Fuller‘s of Chiswick
When Fuller, Smith and Turner PLC needed to expand its capacity at the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London with the addition of a completely new tank farm they chose innovative engineering from GEA Process Engineering to help maximise capacity and keep costs down. GEA Process Engineering in the UK designed and built a brand new storage and conditioning facility for Fullers including beer maturation and conditioning vessels, water deaeration, and CIP system. GEA was able to use its unique ECO-MATRIX™ valving system to save space, maximise tank capacity, reduce building costs, and eliminate dead legs typical of traditional valve systems.
Fuller’s Griffin Brewery is a historic brewery located in a residential area of Chiswick in London. Increased exports, particularly of its bottle beer range, required the company to expand its storage space for culturing and processing. After looking at a number of designs, Fuller’s awarded the contract to GEA because of its innovative technology and its creative design concept that maximised space utilisation and enabled the brewery to install even more vessels than originally planned.
Key to the design was the ECO-MATRIX™ valve and piping system. The ECO-MATRIX™ system does not use valve blocks; instead, process pipes and valves are connected directly beneath the tank outlet. This innovative system significantly reduces the length of piping required, thereby reducing product losses and minimising the risk of contamination.
ECO-MATRIX™ allowed Fuller’s to limit the building height and significantly reduce building costs. The system also eliminates long ‘dead legs’ of pipe full of product, typical with traditional valve systems; this enables full temperature control of beer through maturation and helps to ensure product quality. The resulting fully automated system has provided additional plant capacity without increasing manning levels.
The limited space available meant that GEA had to develop all the equipment layout and design using 3D design techniques. This avoided disrupting operations and allowed Fullers to maintain production throughout the entire project. Les Birchmore is the Chief Engineer for Fullers. “GEA got more tanks in the room than anyone else because of their very innovative design using the ECO-MATRIX™,” he explained. “The whole project took about a year but it came in on time and on budget. We are delighted with the result.”
John Aitken, Sales Manager, Brewery & Beverage for GEA Process Engineering Ltd. said that he was very proud of his company’s achievement in terms of the design challenge. “Our ECO-MATRIX™ piping system was key to the success of the project,” he said. “I don’t believe any other company could have offered this solution.
