Dry Ice Blasting for Food and Drink Industry
The importance of preventative maintenance has again come to light in the world of dry ice blasting for the food and drink industry. Most critically, the speed of our process, compared to traditional cleaning, has been paramount in 1 particular case study.
Recently we were tasked with an emergency clean to a perforator drum, for a company directly linked with the Food and Beverage Industry. These drums are used to make tiny holes in products such as tea bags and breathable packaging.
Problems start when product debris becomes stuck in between the millions of needles located on the rings of the drum. The debris becomes so compact that the perforation process fails, and product rejection occurs, costing thousands in lost revenue.
Traditionally, the debris is hand picked away from the most troublesome areas in order to get production back online as quickly as possible. This, however, is only a short-term solution as the contamination hasn’t fully been removed and product rejection will usually re-occur within days.
As the needles are so delicate and prone to damage, the customer was reluctant to try dry ice blasting. We persuaded them that we are completely non destructive and after a short trial we were commissioned with blasting 180m of drum rollers.
Results
The results were amazing. Each 6m long drum was completed in 4 hours, with 100% of compressed debris removed. The company’s traditional approach was taking a 3-man crew, 2 full shifts, to remove 5% of the debris from the most troublesome areas of the perforator drum. The company have estimated we will save them £74k per year in lost production and product rejection.
Amazing job everyone, again showcasing how dry ice blasting will save your company money.