HPS Product Recovery Solutions, the world’s leader in advanced liquid product recovery (pigging) technology, has just released a new case study on the use of the technology in chocolate production.
The case study details how a UK-based chocolate manufacturer is saving approximately £2 million annually in chocolate that would otherwise be wasted.
That’s about 1 tonne of chocolate per day saved from going down the drain.
Volatile market
Poor harvests, crop failures, and increased prices have affected chocolate manufacturers worldwide. So, they are increasingly turning to technologies to increase efficiency and productivity.
Peter Elgar, Chairman at HPS, said: “We all love chocolate, but chocolate and confectionery manufacturers are battling with volatile raw material costs and supply chain issues. That’s why we’ve been providing our technology to an increasing number of confectionery manufacturers worldwide – which is helping to keep down the cost of our favourite chocolate products!”
Advanced liquid product recovery technology
By implementing HPS Advanced Liquid Product Recovery systems (often referred to as ‘pigging’ systems), the company has also dramatically reduced product rework and cross-contamination, increased yields, and streamlined their production processes.
Pigging technology is used by many hygienic and process industries, including chocolate and confectionery, food, beverages, pet food, personal care, chemicals, paints, and household products.
Pigging works by using specialist projectiles to recover, rather than waste, residual liquid in pipelines or industrial tubing during batch changeovers.
Increased revenue and improved environmental sustainability
There are many benefits of pigging for manufacturers, including increased revenue, reduced downtime, and improved environmental sustainability.
The UK-based manufacturer, who cannot be named for confidentiality reasons, opened a new site in England for plain, white, and milk chocolate production.
The company has several other chocolate processing sites around the world, and they were aware of the potential for product cross-contamination during transfer. They estimated that without pigging, between 5% and 15% of product would require extensive rework.
Automated systems
Having been recommended HPS by a third-party, the chocolate manufacturer contacted HPS to discuss their project. HPS worked with the company to design, supply, and commission six fully automatic, single-pig pigging systems for six lines.
The new case study demonstrates how using automated pigging technology has reduced predicted rework from between 5% and 15% to <1%.
In addition, since implementing HPS technology, they have experienced no cases of product cross-contamination.
For further details on this case study, please reach out for additional information at www.hps-pigging.com.