An International food manufacturer replaces drilled pipes used for compressed air for a Paxton Drying System.

THE CLIENT

Since 1963, a food manufacturer has been providing canned fruit and vegetables to local Dominican Republic supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. As the manufacturer’s portfolio became more successful throughout the Dominican Republic, they started to expand internationally. The main production facility in Baní focuses on filling and packaging canned food.

THE CHALLENGE

The food manufacturer production facility in Baní places cans on a cable conveyor moving at 100 cans a minute. The cans go through a retort process. Once complete, the cans undergo a cooling section where room temperature water is used to cool the cans. Directly after cooling, the cans are dried prior to date coding. A drilled pipe is used to deliver the compressed air for drying the cans on three of the production lines in the facility.

The food manufacturer’s main concern is during that following the cooling process, the compressed air does not remove all the water from the cans. If the water is not removed from the cans, the water accumulating on the top of the cans will cause the cans to oxidize. The food manufacturer contacted a Paxton representative, outlining the challenges and concerns with the inefficiency of their drying process. The Paxton representative recognized that a drilled pipe is the most inefficient way to remove water off cans. The Paxton representative was able to assure the project assistant at the food manufacturer that Paxton could design an effective and efficient solution.

THE SOLUTION

The Paxton team determined that the food manufacturer’s moisture issue could be eliminated used a combination of Paxton’s innovative air products. The Paxton experts recommended a single 15 hp PX-1550 centrifugal blower and three thirty-inch long stainless-steel inline manifolds, one for each line. 

A Paxton inline manifold thoroughly dries the tops of cans prior to date coding and packaging. The inline manifolds have six targeted nozzles for drying, and the manifolds will be mounted above all three lines in order to dry the top of the cans. Paxton’s inline manifold have adjustable nozzles to pinpoint the exact location on the can causing difficulties during the date coding process. Paxton’s stainless-steel inline manifold is recommended for the food and beverage industry as it resists corrosion during the frequent washdown sanitation at the facility.

THE BENEFITS

A return on investment (ROI) analysis on the food manufacturer’s conversion from using compressed air to Paxton’s blower-powered system reiterated the value of Paxton system: by switching to a Paxton drying system, the food manufacturer will receive a total annual savings of over $34,000, providing a return on investment in just seven months.

THE CLIENT'S RATING

The facility SPE further said, “The advantage of the Paxton system is eliminating the labor required in removing the fluid in the tight crevices in the production product which otherwise would create a rejectable defect. The real advantage is working with ITW as a whole and coming up with a collaborative prototype design for a successful new process.”