Pickle Incline to Hydrocooler – Before & After
Company:
Sliced and whole pickle processing
company in Latin America.
Application:
Incline conveyor
Challenge:
The customer used plied belts with glued cleats. Within 6 months, product sticking to the belt and tracking issues caused edge fray and cleat breakage. Stretching and elongation became an issue as well.
After 3 years they sought an easy replacement with a better solution.
Additional costs:
• Extended sanitation time was needed for cleaning the belt surfaces.
• Scheduled maintenance time was needed to “shave and stitch” the belt.
Safety concerns:
• Fibers from the fraying belt edge and parts from the broken and loose cleat material could potentially contaminate the final product.
Solution: Volta Homogenous Flat Belt
FEMB-ITO50 with RoundFlex™ Lace and ITO-50 textured Cleats
Result = Savings/Sanitation and Maintenance cost
• ITO50 texture provides excellent product release improving tracking
• The homogenous and monolithic characteristics of the belt lowers cleaning and sanitation time, reducing water, chemical and labor consumption compared to previous belts.
• HF welded flights will not break and contaminate the final product
• With the homogeneous surface of Volta belt, customer reduces the risks of foreign material leaching from the belt compared to old technologies
• Having an embedded finish on the contact point of the pulleys increases friction and grip of the belt, minimizing tracking issues due to shock loads during production
Testimonial:
Thanks to the ITO-50 surface on the belt and the HF Cleats throughput was increased and the release of wet product was improved.
