Our Non-Stick Coating Solution For A Giant Of The UK Food Industry
In our decades of presence in the coating business, we’ve had the pleasure of working with an array of clients in the food and beverage industry.
So, how do we deal with them differently?
We Don’t.
Instead, we aim to give our clients 100% commitment and personal service, no matter their size.
And this approach has served us well over the years as we’ve been regularly called upon by household names in the UK food industry.
And most recently, it was LAH Engineering and their client Bakkavor that needed assistance with the help of one of our non-stick coating systems.
Now, if you’re not familiar with Bakkavor, they are the leading provider of freshly prepared food (FPF) in the UK, and also take care of some of the world’s best-known international food brands.
And with a global workforce of over 19,000 in 45 locations, they are easily one of the true giants in their sector.
Our Clients Problem…
At the start of the year, I received a call from Mike Harding over at LAH Engineering, who are based on the Wirral, Merseyside.
He had two of Bakkavors conical dough hoppers that needed some TLC.
These essential manufacturing parts are a staple in industrial bakeries and are used for the automatic feeding and portioning of dough batches.
The hopper’s current coatings were showing signs of deterioration, which affected the release properties of their raw product when passing through them, causing unnecessary wastage and build-up of dough on the production line.
The biggest worry, though?
When nonstick coatings start to degrade, this increases the chances of food contamination during the manufacturing process, which is bad news for everyone.
Luckily, Bakkavor is a company that makes sure they check their equipment religiously. Therefore, the hoppers were removed and sent for treatment long before any chances of contamination were possible.
Mike’s other request on this particular job was a quick turnaround of just a day and a half, as he wanted as little disruption to his client, Bakkavor, as possible.
The Job…
Without hesitation, we accepted the assignment, and when the final details were confirmed, all that was needed was to accept the delivery so our team could get to work.
Hours later, they arrived and were sent straight to our Pyrolsis Oven for cleaning.
This environmentally friendly thermal cleaning removes residues, resin, oil, or in this case, the old coating without further damaging base material.
And because our oven operates at an extremely high temperature (460 degrees Celsius), all dirt is incinerated too.
Next stage in the treatment, the hoppers were grit-blasted back to their ‘pre-coated’ steel surface.
This not only offers a clean surface to work on but provides the essential mechanical key for the initial primer adhesion. Further layers of the primer were then added before the show’s real star was applied.
Product Release’s PR235HB Sparkle coating.
Why PR235HB Sparkle?
When customers get items such as hoppers recoated, generally, they don’t have spares. So, they’re looking for a hardwearing coating that lasts as long as possible.
Applying our high build (120 micron+) system with, and processing it in Product Releases “Unique” way, gives optimum release properties and longevity, making the PR235HB Sparkle 5 coat system perfect for the job.
Lastly, to finish our process, midcoats, and topcoats were applied, followed by the final stage curing, in which a polymer material toughens and hardens, leaving the finished product.
The Result…
We are pleased to say that Mike over at LAH Engineering was more than happy with our efforts.
The tight turnaround time of a day and a half was met, and the dough hoppers were up and running on the Bakkavor production line with minimal disruption and downtime.
Can We Help?
At Product Release we deliver proven solutions for your nonstick needs, resulting in less downtime, higher throughput, more efficient manufacturing processes, and cost savings across your particular industry.
Although we’re highly adaptable and can take on your bespoke projects, we’re also specialists in several industries, including:
- Bakery & Food Production
- Oil & Gas
- Printing & Packaging
- Aerospace
- Chemical Processing
- Pharmaceutical
If you have a project you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to email paul.storer@product-release.com contact Paul 07384147859 directly for a chat to see how we can help.
