...each raw materials silo has its own complete weighing system for dosing.
For the production of industrial washing powders Christeyns weighs different raw material types separately in its factory in Gent, Belgium. “The production process is as fast, flexible and efficient as possible,” says Technical Director Johan Hofman.
Ultimately the aim is to strive for a continuous production process. Each of the 18 weighing systems, supplied by PENKO Engineering B.V., is individually equipped with a controller guaranteeing optimal dosing accuracy and product quality.
Since its foundation in 1946, chemical
company Christeyns developed into an
international player in wash detergents
and hygienic products. The core
business includes industrial textile cleaning but also professional, food
and medical hygiene products for
markets in Europe and North America
and expansion into growth markets
such as Brazil and the Middle East.
For Belgium and the
Netherlands, the
enterprise is
considered market
leader in the industrial
laundry sector.
According to
Technical Director Johan Hofman, a
number of mergers and acquisitions, at
home and abroad, including the
industrial laundry activities of Johnson
Diversely, contributed to the success of
the company. “Turnover increased by
17% per annum on average. In 2013 the
family owned business counted eight
production facilities in the home market
with over 700 employees and a total of
230 million Euros.” Headquarters are
situated in the harbour area of Gent, in
Belgium, close to the city centre, allowing
for a great view of the city from the
building roof-top.
Not only is the largest production facility
located at this premises which is currently
expanded by xxxxm2 of warehouse, it
also contains the production of washing
detergents for the entire group. The
factory output counts a total of 62
thousand tons of product, of which 20
thousand tons are washing powder, 16
thousand tons of liquid ingredients/
detergents, 11 thousand tons of per
acetic acid and 15 thousand tons of oleo
chemical products. The total number of
employees is currently at 120 and this
includes headquarters and R&D
employees.
Washing-Power Production
“Density and flow-ability of materials is
very important in our manufacturing
processes,” says the Technical Director.
Generally households easily use 40 grams
of washing powder for a few kilograms of
washing, whereas our customers only
need 4 grams of powder for a few
kilograms of washing. The entire recipe
controlled production is extremely flexible
and runs in relatively small batches.
About seventy different raw materials,
used for this process, are stored in silos,
big bags or for smaller quantities in
smaller sacks. The company aspires to
have a rapid turn-around time keeping
stock levels at a minimum. This requires a
highly reliable automated process
installation. Where necessary, the
installation is upgraded and the number
of silo’s and dosing systems is continuously
expanded. The last upgrade was
done 2012 – 2013. “We have 150 recipes.
Combine this with the different types of
packages and the variety in volumes, the
product range holds more than 500
articles in fluid alone,” says the Technical
Director, who goes on to explain the
solids production process.
During the solids processing raw materials
are dumped from silos or big-bags via
holding bunkers, each with its own
weighing/dosing system, onto a central
conveyor belt. Some of the smaller
quantities of raw materials, for example
those from smaller sacks, are discharged
into an installation designed for this.
Subsequently a bucket elevator dumps the
raw material into one of the two holding
silos, each of which is connected to a huge
mixing drum installation. Both mixing
installations are connected to two storage
silos which in turn are connected to a
packaging line allowing two batches to be
packed at the same time.
Johan Hofman explains, “Our goal is to
achieve a practically non-stop production
process in which various installations can be
in different stages of the production
process. For this, production automation is a
fundamental requirement. So for example,
while the mixer is still active with packaging
a batch, a new batch can be prepared in
the holding silo. Ideally, whilst one batch is
being packed, another is mixed and a third batch is transported to the holding silo –
all happening at the same time. In this
way we can manage various recipes
simultaneously during the production
process.” He emphasizes the advantage
of having separate weighing
systems for this type of production
process since the amounts of different
raw materials used varies per batch. For
the holding bunkers, which are much
smaller in comparison to the big silos, it is
important to attain the highest possible
weight accuracy, especially for
components used in relatively small
quantities. “This is particularly important
because of the high concentrated
products we make,” explains Hofman
and goes on to pointing out that these
are expensive components such as
optical whiteners which are added to
certain washing powders.
Controller
The production process currently
includes a total number of 18 PENKO
controllers, each with its own load cell.
The decision to install individual controllers
for each weighing system, as opposed to a
PLC-controller, was made to guarantee
weighing accuracy and thus ensure
consistent quality standards of the end
products. The controller reaction time is 0,6
milliseconds or, a factor of 8-50 higher
accuracy compared to any PLC-controller.
Operating the weighing systems, of which
the batch- and sequence control system
plays an important part, is done by the
latest user-friendly supervisory BCS
management information software from
PENKO Engineering B.V.
In the production control room each
weigher has its own intuitive touch screen
operator panel of type FLEX. For nondosing
processes the systems are
connected to a Siemens PCS7 product
automation system. Once the operator has
selected a recipe, the production process
is started by a press of a button. At any given time the system shows which
production batch is in process, which
product is in which holding bunker and
which possible routing is available.
By the end of 2015 Johan Hofman hopes to
connect the production controller to a
Microsoft Navision ERP-system.
“Christeyns wants more control over its
production and logistics processes. Recipes
will be uploaded from the ERP-system to
the PENKO controller and once the process
is completed, this will be relayed back to
the ERP system. This requirement will be
discussed with PENKO and the ERP software
supplier.”
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