"Two pumps for the price of one" says delighted dairy
At Parmalat Dairies in Kendal, Cumbria, a seepex hygienic progressing cavity pump has been in operation since the mid 1990s, handling quark. The plant manufactures fresh yoghurt for many of the UK's major multiples.
The starting situation
Parmalat required a compact pumping system to feed yoghurt into a mixing vessel where the processed fruit is added, and then pumped it out again to the filling lines. Due to the reliable of the initial pump installed and the fact that it had required very few replacement parts, led Parmalat to ask seepex to consider another pumping problem they were facing.
The solution
"What seepex came up with was really two pumps for the price of one", says Hugh Wilkinson, the site Maintenance Manager. The seepex CS progressive cavity pump "not only pumps the plain yoghurt in, but also out again, once we've added the fruit, and all using the same pump." This bi-directional flow is achieved by the fitting of a special mechanical seal which allows the pump flow to be reversed with the shaft rotation - adding to the versatility of the seepex solution.
The benefit
Parmalat have found seepex pumps to be ideally suited to handling sensitive dairy products. The pump has a gentle, low shear pumping action and can pass large solids such as berries and fruit pieces without damage. "Achieving 100% of what they have promised to date, we are now considering seepex for a further, larger, pump installation" concludes Parmalat's Wilkinson.
