MasoSine pump replaces progressive cavity pump at food manufacturer – delivering higher performance levels and quicker strip-down times

Watson Marlow 08/09/2011

424 2 minutes read

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The Runcorn plant of leading food manufacturer, AAK Foods, has swapped an ageing progressive cavity pump for the latest MasoSine pump from Watson-Marlow Pumps Group. The twist in the tale is that AAK initially tried a progressive cavity alternative, only to find it was taking three hours to strip, clean and rebuild – too long for a company that often undertakes short runs. As a result, AAK Foods turned to a MasoSine SPS4 sine pump, which proved a far more suitable solution, offering both higher performance levels and quicker strip-down times.

AAK Foods, which employs approximately 200 people at its Runcorn site depending on seasonal demand, produces over 300 different products and a wide range of value added services for the retail and food service markets. By its own admission the company has a number of progressive cavity progressive cavity pumps on site that are approaching the end of their useful life.

The pumps are used to transfer product from intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) to depositor feed hoppers on the filling lines – an important part of the process. However, for thicker viscosity products, this area had become a bottleneck. When Engineering Manager Ian Roberts began his search for a modern equivalent, the result was a trial with a progressive cavity pump.

“Because these pumps now have an extra chamber, we found it was taking 2-3 hours to strip, clean and rebuild,” he says. “We have a lot of short runs here – sometimes only 1-2 batches, so losing 3 hours to change product is simply out of the question. I knew I had to start the search again.”

Take it as read

By chance, Mr Roberts read a trade magazine article about a food manufacturer that had enjoyed considerable success using a MasoSine SPS pump from Watson-Marlow. Deciding to find out more, he contacted the local sales representative who was able to advise a suitable specification of pump – in this case a MasoSine SPS4 model.

“We have many different requirements for our pumps,” explains Mr Roberts. “They have to pump everything from thin dressings to coarse grain mustards and everything in between, representing a big range of viscosities. Furthermore, we need a gentle acting pump so the particulates within our foods are not destroyed in the transfer process.”

The pump’s impressive suction capacity of 0.85 bar allows fast and efficient transfer of high viscosity products from the IBC to the filling line. Furthermore, its gentle, low shear action and large pumping chamber helps preserve and maintain product integrity. The single rotor design and inherent one shaft one seal allow for ease and speed of maintenance and strip down. In addition, the 91.2 m³/hr, pumping capacity is twice that of the original progressive cavity pumps. Importantly for AKK, strip down is also remarkably easy and fast.

“We can strip the MasoSine SPS4 pump down to component level for cleaning in just 7-8 minutes,” says Mr Roberts. “It then takes 20-25 minutes to clean, but only because of the dwell time in cleaning solution required to ensure sterility. We then rebuild, which only takes 10 minutes. All-in-all we are up and running again within what we describe as the ‘magic’ hour.”

Fact of life

With a number of other progressive cavity pumps facing end-of-life replacement, Mr Roberts concedes it would make perfect sense to look at another MasoSine when the time arrives to replace the next one.

“While we might be able to source lower cost alternatives, the MasoSine is superior in every way, ultimately making it better value for money. When we add in the fact that Watson-Marlow is very supportive, then there really isn’t a better solution for our business.”

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Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions

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About us

Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG) peristaltic tube and hose pumps meet requirements including: value for money; low cost of ownership; reliability and ease of maintenance to the food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, mining and many other industries.

We demonstrate how pumps deliver significant process efficiencies over the lifetime of the equipment. Whether performing flavouring addition in food processing, chemical metering in water treatment or mineral recovery, we have a solution which can cut pump downtime and reduce costs through higher accuracy metering and transfer. WMFTG has dedicated application engineers available to help customers make the right pump and tubing choice from a range providing microlitres per minute to 80 cubic metres per hour flow rates.

The only part of the pump to come into contact with the product is the tube or hose. This means there are no seals or valves that can wear or fail. Replacing the tube or hose can be performed quickly and safely. Peristaltic pump benefits include:

Total fluid containment with no seals No ancillaries Handle viscous and abrasive slurries and sludge Self-priming capability Dry running without damage to the pump In addition to their range of positive displacement pumps, Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group has added PTFE-lined chemical and industrial hoses to their range. Aflex hoses are reinforced to withstand the most severe conditions and use.

Where we supply to

Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, North America

Industries we supply to

Automation, Chemicals, Consultants, Components Electronics, Energy and Power, Food and Beverage, Glass Ceramics Cement, Metals and Minerals, OEM, Paper and Pulp, Pharmaceutical Cosmetics Toiletries, Plastics and Rubber, Recycling, Textiles, Tobacco, Water and Wastewater

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