Kerry Ingredients faced significant annual disruption at their site in Cam, Gloucestershire, where gum from acai trees is spray-dried into powder for use in food production processes. The Foodec 3000T decanter used to dry the gum requires a yearly service, which can take up to 15 weeks dependent on wear-and-tear. In this time the entire production process is taken offline, with this downtime impacting production schedules and financial bottom lines.
Specifying Solutions, Staying in Contact
Alfa Laval’s sales and service teams worked closely with Kerry Ingredients to put a detailed plan in place to minimise downtime, targeting a turnaround of three weeks.
For this to be achieved, regular progress reviews and reallocation of labour would be essential to meet the tight target. Alongside this, communications between Kerry Ingredients and Alfa Laval remained active regarding the condition of existing on-site equipment to better inform and streamline yearly remedial works moving forwards.
The Alfa Laval service team worked closely with Kerry Ingredients on a continuous basis to best understand their operational needs and priorities. Through proactive communication informed by Alfa Laval’s technical expertise, they implemented a tailored maintenance plan that minimised disruption during servicing periods, with an emphasis on ongoing contact between Kerry Ingredients and Alfa Laval stakeholders.
Twelve Weeks’ Difference
Through close communication and collaboration before and during planned service periods, Alfa Laval and Kerry Ingredients were able to achieve a dramatic reduction in downtime, from 15 weeks to the goal of three.
This ensured that there was no loss of production for the customer, as the service was completed within the site’s annual maintenance shutdown window.
The installation of the Foodec 3000T was instrumental in this result, improving equipment hygiene and reliability. This combination of enhanced production efficiency and informed servicing allowed Kerry Ingredients to use less expensive, harder-to-refine acai gum, improving cost margins while continuing to produce a high-quality output.
Since the service was completed, Alfa Laval has since supplied a spare rotating assembly to support Kerry Ingredients. This will provide extra resilience against potential production downtime as a result of breakdowns and required annual service work occurring outside the customer shutdown period.
Kamil Skonieczny, Engineering Manager, Kerry Ingredients, said: “Alfa Laval’s sales and servicing teams have been amazing – they’ve really gone above and beyond, staying in contact providing updates on a daily basis during servicing periods.
“You don’t very often get that communication flow in other service departments. The Alfa Laval team was proactive in confirming they had received all information or if they needed more, and setting out guidance over the condition of the scroll and what needed replacing. It is hard to achieve a four-week turnaround on the machinery we use, and the level of pre-planning and quality of execution to make it happen was outstanding.”
Renewals and Expansion
This case study highlights the value of proactive service partnerships and tailored technical solutions. The success of Alfa Laval’s approach can be seen in Kerry Ingredients opting to renew its servicing contract and expanding its remit to include the maintenance of a recently purchased second scroll.
This further emphasises Alfa Laval’s part in improving Kerry Ingredients’ production processes and demonstrates the confidence Kerry Ingredients has in the company’s service offering.
