A holistic and optimised system of energy efficient motors, variable-speed drives and software packages can achieve up to 40% electricity savings and significantly lower total cost of ownership for food and beverage processing plants, says drive, motor and automation solutions specialist SEW-EURODRIVE.

Having installed these optimised systems in the most demanding of food processing sectors, such as meat processing, the company has a firm understanding of the sector’s stringent hygienic and modular requirements to ensure easy cleaning in corrosive environments and reduce maintenance and downtime.

Incorrect drive specification can significantly impact on plant efficiencies, electricity use, plant productivity and equipment life, emphasises SEW-EURODRIVE business development manager for electronics Willem Strydom.

“As food and beverage producers face increasing pressure to improve throughput, reduce energy consumption and maintain consistent product quality, correctly specified drive systems play a critical role across applications such as conveying, mixing, pumping, packaging and materials handling.”

To that end, integrated automation and digital tools help to support predictive maintenance, process control and flexibility, allowing for food and beverage operations to adapt to changing production demands while futureproofing their facilities, Strydom explains.

He notes that digital solutions, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning, allow for better process control and resource optimisation, which SEW-EURODRIVE promotes through a staged approach, ensuring that clients digitalise their systems affordably and efficiently.

Strydom says the company typically starts a client journey by assessing the conditions and plant parameters of operations, which includes identifying the most resource- demanding processes, to produce a phased implementation plan for digitalisation that targets those areas first.

It also provides product selection and hygienic equipment recommendations, including stainless steel motors, specialised food-grade coatings and smoother gearbox designs, with systems tailored to the environment in which they operate.

For example, the meat processing industry requires maximised washdown capability, owing to frequent cleaning, as well as uninterrupted uptime to maintain consistent quality. In such a case, modular automation systems offer flexibility in production output, allowing for changes “on the fly” without stopping production lines.

SEW-EURODRIVE also helps clients implement condition monitoring systems for production lines, consequently facilitating the creation of data-driven maintenance schedules and reports on expected reductions in downtime.

The company can also set up application-wide monitoring that includes non- motor components, such as conveyor pulleys and bearings, to deliver analysis showing pre- and post-maintenance efficiency changes and recommend corrective actions.

Strydom affirms that food and beverage producers are increasingly seeing the transformative impacts of digital platforms, digital twins and IoT software, with more data providing more opportunities to optimise entire processes rather than individual components.

Machine learning, for example, provides indicative results on systemwide performance, which further enhances efficiency and resource optimisation.

In addition to its scope of product offerings – which are affordable and palatable when installed in stages – SEW-EURODRIVE can help make food and beverage plants perform better using different products and solutions,  Strydom concludes.