1512_GB_Continuous-kneader-feeding

AZO CASE STUDY

Continuous kneader feeding Highest standards in dough production

We Love Ingredients.

Frischbäck GmbH

Frischbäck GmbH was founded in 2009 and is a leading manufacturer of frozen baked goods based in Gersthofen near Augsburg. As part of the IHLE Group, which has been in existence for over 130 years, the company combines traditional craftsmanship with state of-the-art technology. In one of the most modern facilities in Europe, Frischbäck produces high quality pretzel products, breads and rolls for customers in Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. A team of master bakers, product developers and quality assurance officers ensures the highest level of product safety and excellent taste.

Craftsmanship and high tech combined – Frischbäck offers high-quality frozen baked goods with certified product safety, sustainable production and great taste.

« In our production, we attach great importance to process reliability, efficiency and a clean, reliable material supply. The plant supplied by AZO meets these requirements in every respect. We particularly appreciate the combination of sophisticated process technology and an intelligent production control and visualisation system – all from a single source. Our collaboration with AZO has been characterised by trust, competence and a high degree of reliability for many years.With this plant, we have a solution that we can rely on today and in the future. » Gerhard Augustin, Deputy Plant Manager Frischbäck GmbH

Website Frischbäck

Frischbäck | Gersthofen

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The task for AZO

AZO was commissioned to plan and implement a fully automated system for the hygienic and precise supply of material to continuous kneading lines.

The plant handles the reception, storage, dosing and feeding of all powdered bulk and medium-sized components as well as all necessary liquids. To ensure a high level of process reliability, the plant is equipped with an efficient CIP cleaning system and designed in accordance with the explosion protection concept of ‘avoiding effective ignition sources’. An intelligent and user-friendly production control and visualisation system ensures consistently harmonised control and monitoring of the entire plant – for maximum reliability and stable production in industrial bakery manufacturing.

Why AZO?

Future-proof investment AZO is a solid family business with well trained employees – reliable, cooperative and future-proof.

High vertical range of manufacture AZO produces durable, high-quality products at several locations with a high vertical range of manufacture

Bundled expertise Engineering, plant and control cabinet construction, programming and control – everything from a single source.

Reliable partnership

Highest hygiene standards Short cleaning times thanks to hygienic plant design and integrated CIP cleaning.

High plant availability High availability of spare parts, reliable inspection and maintenance by trained service personnel

Safe product quality Precise dosing and weighing of all components, as well as complete traceability for recipe compliance and reproducible dough production.

• Reliable product quality thanks to the highest hygiene standards • Quality management through complete documentation and batch tracking (tracking and tracing) • Safe products thanks to reliable screening systems • Minimal downtime thanks to quick and easy cleaning of the system with CIP cleaning systems • High efficiency and productivity Uninterrupted production through continuous feeding of the kneading lines • Simple operation and monitoring of the automatic plant through intelligent control

• Avoidance of errors through constant operator guidance in the control room and in the production areas • Transparent production through integration of the entire production workflow, from goods receipt to transfer to the dough lines, into the production control system • Efficient and optimised processes through integrated data handling and automated data flows (MES functions) for the entire plant • Safe production and protection of operators and plant through consistent compliance with explosion protection regulations and safety guidelines

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Supplying large quantities of raw materials AZO silos and discharge systems enable the safe storage and discharge of various types of flour and salt, as well as high-performance feeding into vacuum weighing systems. The aluminium outdoor silos are filled from silo trucks. To ensure safe filling, the silos are equipped with vent filters, level monitoring and shut-off valves. Silo head space drying, reliable silo discharge with precise raw material dosing, and control screening of the flours ensure the high quality of the raw materials. • Hygienic product reception in a closed environment protected from environmental influences • Monitored reception routines for safe and convenient operation • Filter systems and monitoring devices for safe silo filling • Integrated silo head space drying to prevent condensation • Safe storage – reliable discharge The advantages in detail

More about silos and discharge systems

Product delivery with silo trucks The various types of flour and salt are delivered by silo trucks. Product input is integrated into the building and shielded to ensure the highest hygiene standards.

Safe emptying of silos Vibration bottoms in

combination with rotary valves ensure an even mass flow and thus prevent the formation of flour pockets.

Consistent product quality Cyclone screeners remove any foreign objects and agglomerates and automatically eject them.

Feeding multiple lines Distributor agitators enable simultaneous feeding of multiple lines from a silo. This increases flexibility, reduces dependencies between kneading lines and ensures reliable flour dosing.

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Reliable product feeding The medium components delivered in big bags are fed into the closed production system via a big bag emptying station with minimal dust generation.

Product safety is our top priority

Flexible with safety in mind The conveying lines for filling the buffer silos are connected manually. Sensors and controls monitor the correct allocation.

On-site operation The operator can enter the necessary information directly at the control terminal in the product feeding area.

With the help of an easy‑to clean inline screener, the raw materials can be screened with the optimum mesh size before storage.

Storage and weighing of the medium components In contrast to bulk quantities, baking mixes, sugar and other ingredients are delivered in big bags. The buffer silos are filled via a big bag emptying station with cooled conveying air. The easily dismantled inline screener allows the individual raw materials to be screened with the optimum mesh size before storage. This ensures the quality of the products. With the aid of vibration bottoms and dosing screws, the products are dosed into hopper scales. Here they are weighed one after the other to the nearest gram according to the recipe. As soon as all components are in the scale, it is emptied into a receiving container and the batch is conveyed to the kneading line via the vacuum weighing system.

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Safe and hygienic yeast supply

From unloading the tank truck to storage in large volume cooling tanks and precise yeast dosing at the kneading stations, the system offers continuous process control. The dual, mix-proof design of the system with alternating connection enables CIP cleaning while the second system continues production. This ensures uninterrupted operation – with the highest hygiene standards and optimum product quality.

Website AZO LIQUIDS

Liquids perfectly dosed at the right time in the right place The reliable supply of liquid yeast, process water, liquid egg, oil, brine and liquid flavours is crucial for the quality and consistency of bakery production. Precise dosing of liquid ingredients is crucial for the continuous dough production process. Efficient pumping and conveying systems ensure that the required quantities are supplied to the extraction points and guarantee a consistent production flow. Automated dosing processes increase accuracy while reducing manual effort in daily operations to a minimum. Hygienic safety is also guaranteed through full automation. CIP cleaning programmes enable reliable cleaning of pipes and tanks without dismantling. This ensures that product quality, plant productivity and process reliability remain at a consistently high level at all times.

Provision of oils

The cooking oil and frying oil required for doughnut (Krapfen) production are delivered by tank truck and stored directly in indoor tanks after goods receipt inspection. For maximum environmental safety, all tanks are located in a sealed collection tray. Heated tanks are used for the frying oil. They keep the oil at a constant temperature so that it can be quickly brought to the target temperature on the production line.

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Production and temperature-controlled supply of brine

The table salt is transferred from the outdoor silo to the preparation tank by means of gravimetric dosing, where it is dissolved into brine together with the weighed quantity of water. The specified concentration is achieved by means of a precisely defined ratio of water and salt, which ensures reproducible product quality. The brine produced is then transferred to the storage tank and cooled to the optimum processing temperature. The tank itself is also cooled. Thanks to continuous circulation, the brine is continuously available at a stable concentration and temperature for the subsequent process steps.

Hygienic supply and dosing of liquid egg

The double feeding station for liquid egg allows two IBC containers to be connected in parallel. Once one container has been completely emptied, the system automatically switches over to ensure that the process is supplied without interruption. Due to the high hygiene requirements, the station is fully integrated into the CIP process so that all components that come into contact with the product are cleaned thoroughly. The space optimised design was installed in a customer's cold storage room.

Precise dosing of liquid flavours

Liquid flavours, which give doughnuts their characteristic taste, are added in very small quantities. This precise minimal dosing places the highest demands on measuring accuracy and conveying technology. Even extremely low flow rates are provided reliably and consistently over the long term.

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Continuous kneader feeding

The batch-assembled product batches are transferred directly to continuous feeding immediately prior to the production process. The powdered raw materials provided by the vacuum weighing systems in the conveying scale are homogenised in a subsequent mixer. They are then continuously fed to the pre-mixer via the AZODOS ® dosing device. Here, liquid components are added and mixed intensively with the powdered raw materials. The homogenised dough is then continuously transported to the continuous kneader.

More about vacuum weighing systems

More about AZODOS ®

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Hygienic pipe layout The pipes are routed to the kneader line on an intermediate level. This makes the production area easy to clean.

Combining the dry ingredients according to the recipe The flours are transported from the outdoor silos to the conveying scale above the mixer using vacuum weighing systems and weighed at the same time. The medium components, which were previously weighed precisely in hopper scales, are also sucked into the conveying scale via the vacuum weighing systems.

Homogenising the powdered dry ingredients Homogenising the powdered ingredients in a small dry mixer ensures consistent, homogeneous product quality.

Water supply To maintain the specified dough temperature, a water mixing and dosing device (WMD) supplies perfectly tempered process water in the required quantity and at the right time.

High-end electrical installation The electrical installation and cable management meet the highest standards and enable efficient and simple maintenance of the entire system.

Continuous feeding The powdered raw materials are fed continuously into the premixer using an AZODOS ® loss-in-weight feeder.

Precise dosing of liquids

Water, liquid yeast, brine and oil are precisely dosed into the pre-mixer, where they are thoroughly mixed with the powdered raw materials. The homogenised dough is then continuously transported to the continuous kneader.

Convenient on-site operation

Operator terminals in hygienic design, as shown here on the kneading line, enable the operator to make process related entries and monitor production. This allows errors to be detected and rectified promptly.

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Highest hygiene standards for safe production

The CIP system is designed as a two-tank system – consisting of one tank for the cleaning solution and one tank for fresh water – thus enabling flexible, media-optimised cleaning sequences. The dosing of the cleaning chemicals is fully automated and continuously monitored by the process control system. An integrated conductivity measurement ensures that the concentration of the cleaning solution remains within the specified range at all times. An electric heating coil ensures precise temperature control of the media used. The entire CIP unit is fully integrated into the factory process infrastructure, so that all relevant plant components can be centrally controlled, documented and cleaned in a reproducible manner.

High-end electrical installation

The electrical installation and cable management meet the highest standards and enable efficient and easy maintenance of the entire system. Cooled control cabinets for maximum system availability Switch cabinet cooling reliably protects controls and electronics from overheating, dust and moisture. This ensures stable processes, longer component life and minimises downtime – for safe, hygienic and efficient production.

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More about the production control system

Intelligent production control and visualisation system

The AZO kneader feeding system is controlled via the Kastor PLS with a full range of functions – including recipe management, order management, logging and seamless tracking & tracing. Decentralised control components in all relevant production areas increase system availability, while electrical assemblies are located outside the production area wherever possible. Hygienic electrical installations and control cabinets in hygienic design support the highest standards. Pre-production takes place as a batch process with a seamless transition to continuous dough production. At the same time, the system remains fully traceable: from goods receipt and silo filling to dough transfer to the lines, including the logged preparation of manual additions.

Central control with Kastor PLS. High system availability thanks to decentralised control components. Hygienic installation and continuous tracking and tracing from goods receipt to dough production.

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1512 2046 GB

« For us at Frischbäck, reliability counts. The AZO system runs smoothly and makes our team's work easier every day. We particularly appreciate the fact that the process technology and control system come from a single source – this gives us real security and confidence. »

Gerhard Augustin, Deputy Plant Manager Frischbäck GmbH

AZO GmbH & Co. KG D-74706 Osterburken Tel. +49 6291 92 0 azo-group@azo.com www.azo.com

We Love Ingredients.

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