Seagarden: fresh from the sea
For marine-derived ingredients firm Seagarden, adopting GEA FSD® spray drying technology at its own facility in Norway has been instrumental in helping to support growth in demand for its fish-based hydrolysed collagen peptide products, as well as reduce transportation costs and associated environmental footprint.
The benefits and growth witnessed by Seagarden within just a couple of years of the initial GEA spray dryer installation in 2019 prompted the firm both to place an order for a second GEA FSD® system, effectively doubling capacity, and in addition install GEA OptiPartner solution for process monitoring and optimization.
Combining spray- and fluid-bed drying, the FSD® is designed to provide optimum drying efficiency and best product quality in agglomerated powders, ensuring consistency and quality of product. Installing the GEA solution at its Haugesund facility in Norway meant that Seagarden could manufacture its North Sea cod skin-derived collagen peptide products in house, rather than transporting the hydrolysed fish proteins to Sweden for spray drying. The benefits of having GEA spray drying technology in house have been extensive, from enabling tight process control, to improved efficiency and sustainability, as well as reduced transport costs.
Installation of a second GEA FSD® system to double spray drying capacity will allow Seagarden to process other fish-based product ranges - including powders used in the food and beverage industry - and so bring even greater control over production across its portfolio.
Software enhancements will drive further efficiencies
The GEA OptiPartner software that is also being adopted by Seagarden combines GEA’s process design and operation know-how with remote service and plant monitoring, to help achieve improvements in plant productivity, efficiency and reproducibility. Utilizing advanced machine learning algorithms and digital twinning technology to control real-time optimizers, the software effectively functions as an additional layer on top of the existing control system to help maintain optimal performance.
Morten Lykke Poulsen, Area Sales Manager at GEA commented: “GEA OptiPartner is a dynamic model that is fully integrated into the control system to continuously monitor and adjust process parameters at intervals of every 10-15 seconds. It is like always having an extremely perceptive pair of eyes on your line, which are also capable of seeing into the near future, providing advanced predictive capabilities that deliver process stability and optimization. This, in turn, enables production staff to focus on overall production conditions and other important value-added operational tasks. For Seagarden, GEA OptiPartner will add considerable value as the company scales up operationally, and we are proud to be continuing our excellent working partnership.”
The historical challenge
Seagarden, with its head office in Haugesund, Norway, is a major producer of fish-based ingredients for food, beverage and cosmetic manufacturers worldwide. Collagen peptide, a hydrolysed form of collagen produced in the Seagarden process, can be mixed in powder form into juice or performance drinks, used as an ingredient in nutri-bars and snacks, and as food supplement in tablet or capsule form. Collagen peptide is a special, natural type of collagen that is extracted from the fresh skins of wild cod fished from the seas north of Norway. Seagarden converts this otherwise waste product into a high-value ingredient.
The enzymatic process necessary to extract the hydrolyzed collagen takes place at the Seagarden factory in Haugesund. However, prior to Seagarden installing its first GEA FSD® spray dryer in house, the GEA spray drying equipment used to convert the liquid feed into a preserved, stable powder, was sited at a toll manufacturer in Sweden. Each batch of feed had to be transported, under temperature-controlled conditions, over 1000km for processing. Seagarden decided to build its own drying facility at Haugesund to smooth the process, improve efficiency and sustainability and reduce transport costs.
Fish-based collagen-peptide from Seagarden – an important ingredient for the food, beverage and cosmetics industries. (Photo Seagarden)
The GEA solution
Seagarden had already been familiar with GEA and its spray drying technology, and previously installed a pilot-sized GEA dryer with support from GEA’s service team. GEA has a vast experience in building spray drying plants. This proven ability, with a robust manufacturing and support organization, enabled GEA to work with Seagarden to design, engineer, install and commission the first plant within a short time period. So with the first spray drying system delivered in summer 2019 - both on time and on budget - and with GEA overseeing the commissioning phase, production started in August that year.
Commenting on the latest project to install a second GEA spray drying system, Rune Paulsen, CEO of Seagarden, said, “With the proven success of our first collaboration with GEA, which began back in 2018, we knew we were getting a true partner in production. Our first Spray Dryer installation not only drove our business forward in terms of capacity, but also impressed our customers, who experienced first-hand our willingness to invest in the future of this industry.”
"GEA has been with us side-by-side throughout. The new dryer with advanced software will enable us to further enhance our service to our customers and also to ensure we are fully prepared for the next phase in our growth".
– Rune Paulsen, CEO of Seagarden
FSD® Spray Dryer
