Interview with Steffen Bamberger, Head of Product Management Automation
Giving insights into our GEA One Line Concept
Slicing and packaging were some of the first areas that GEA specialised in, way back in the early origins of its food processing and packaging unit. GEA continues to build on its many decades of expertise, with exciting new developments taking place which are set to change the face of slicing and packaging operations in the years to come.
Steffen Bamberger, Head of Production Management in Automation discusses what the future holds and how the latest developments are fulfilling GEA’s mission of Engineering for a Better World.
How can GEA’s latest slicing and packaging technology enable food producers to fulfill the ever increasing demands that are being placed on them?
There are so many factors involved here – the need to produce high quality, repeatable results, reducing downtime, reducing running costs and of course increasing environmental and energy saving mandates and expectations. We can address all these issues, but the important starting point is to ensure Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). GEA is focused on ensuring that systems are intelligent and self-optimizing.
We are offering specialist solutions at every stage of a line rather than a blanket, one-size fits all approach. That would necessitate compromises, and each product has its own individual requirements. For instance, raw ham slicing requires technology that allows for minimum giveaways and maximum yield. Cooked ham or dairy products require a focus on maximum outputs in combination with stringent hygienic requirements. So, GEA is offering its customers solutions where specific parameters are set to provide optimal results for each product on a line.
There are so many demands being made on food producers these days it’s becoming an increasingly pressured and challenging field. What are the key USPs that GEA lines offer that can meet these challenges?
Speed to market
Just to give an indication, our standard slicing line for dairy products alone can easily produce two tons per hour. That’s a lot of product! Bearing in mind that the latest systems allow many specific parameters such as portion sizes, shapes, number per pack and so on to be predetermined in advance, speed is further increased as downtime to reconfigure settings is taken out of the equation.
Reducing human intervention
GEA’s goal is not to remove the workforce but rather to give them the opportunity to be involved in more interesting tasks. People are more likely to become bored and maybe lose concentration if they’re involved in repetitive or mundane tasks. Human behaviour is subject to change, so GEA‘s equipment removes the possibility of human error during production, but the parameters of the line can be set, monitored and controlled by people. There are always going to be certain tasks which a machine will never be able to do. This is where we want people to be involved at this more interesting, programming level.
Sustainability
The ability GEA‘s lines enable in actively controlling the production parameters can be specifically used to improve environmental impact. GEA’s very mission statement is ‘engineering for a better world‘, and that’s why sustainability is at the forefront of our new designs.
Whether it’s a case of needing to reduce carbon footprint, for example where products need to be produced under specific temperature conditions, or whether it’s a case of reducing wastage, GEA has the answers. To highlight a couple of examples, in terms of slicing, our laser cutting technology enables exacting precision time after time. When it comes to packaging, our latest thermoformers are capable of running many kinds of recyclable, thinner materials as well as a reduced usage of print.
Naturally, improving sustainability often results in improving energy efficiency. What kind of cost-saving benefits can a customer expect from a GEA line?
Reducing wastage, the use of materials and energy usage by setting stringent pre-programmable parameters will always result in measurably better OEE, therefore our lines will produce more kg per square meter.
GEA’s policy is that customers can expect ROI within two years of purchase. Customers can also benefit from a high level of measurability, because the latest lines offer PerformancePlus reports which can be made remotely. These detail the ongoing efficiency of the system on a regular basis. With these capabilities the customer will be able to have a better usage of the line and therefore a faster payback period. PerformancePlus also highlights any potential mechanical issues over the lifetime of a product, pre-empting any issues before they are really there which enables us to carry out predictive maintenance for instance.
Why should food companies choose a complete line from GEA? What can GEA offer that competitors can’t match?
It is easy to explain because nobody else knows our machines or how they work together better than we do! Genuine integration is only possible with products that are seamlessly joined together both physically and in terms of software. For us, the line concept of the future is not simply to attach machines together which have no real communication between each other. Our design for line integration means outstanding mechanical integration to achieve minimum footprints by using physically identical parts and HMIs to make the operation of a line as easy as possible. Last but not least we incorporate intelligent and self-optimizing software, and it’s this fine-tuning capability that really sets GEA lines in a class of their own.
Can an existing GEA line be adapted to incorporate the latest technology?
By realizing the highest possible level of modularization, the latest GEA equipment is enabling us to offer solutions that are customizable to individual production needs. This modularity enables us to easily retrofit new equipment in existing lines. However, given the synergy offered by our latest technology, the highest level of line intelligence and efficiency can only be achieved by using a complete line solution from GEA.
The lines are based on a holistic vision. Would GEA consider integrating with other suppliers’ equipment if requested by a customer?
GEA works with its customers to develop the best solutions, tailored to individual requirements. If third party equipment is required, it’s our ambition to integrate that equipment in the best possible way. One of the benefits here is that with our latest technology, HMI systems have been optimized to make them as user-friendly and straightforward as possible, taking the stress out of programming in instructions to control the processes on a line.
What should a customer take into account when choosing between belt loader or robot loader solutions?
It really depends on whether you’re looking for high volumes meaning maximum output or a specific number of packs per minute. Belt solutions are the best option if you need complete packaging solutions in one go, particularly because they avoid waiting times during reloading of the slicer.
But if customers require maximum flexibility and if they need to handle a high level of product variety our robot loading helps customers to manage all these demanding requirements in one system. Ultimately, due to permanently changing market requirements the need for solutions with maximum flexibility is likely to push robot solutions into the forefront in the future much more than the belt loading solutions.
What packaging materials can the lines incorporate?
In terms of our forming equipment, to pre-form a package you need to be able to manage temperature. We have dedicated heating systems which can handle all kinds of packaging materials including recyclable mono materials. Mono materials have much more stringent requirements because the temperature window for production needs to be a very small. Our intelligent PowerHeat systems move away from traditional heating methods allowing much better temperature control per area. For instance, with a deep trough package, the corners have different temperature requirements compared with the bottom of the tray. GEA’s heating systems are able to adjust each and every area to get the best results.
