Customer case
Crafting the Crunch
Thanks to consistently high and growing global demand, manufacturers of extruded pellets for potato chips and snacks are always on the lookout for innovative ways to expand their product range. Polish snack pellet manufacturer Jedność has achieved this through a strategic partnership with GEA.
Snack production boosted by long-term partnership
Whether at private parties or as a snack between meals, there are many reasons why consumers enjoy snacks. Worldwide consumers currently consume about 9 kg per person per year*. Thanks to consistently high and growing global demand, manufacturers of extruded pellets for potato chips and snacks are always on the lookout for innovative ways to expand their product range.
Polish snack pellet manufacturer Jedność has done just that thanks to a strategic partnership with GEA, one of the world’s largest systems suppliers for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors, to develop its extensive range of extruded pellets.
External view of Jedność's headquarter in Poland.
Jedność is the leading producer of snack pellets not only in Poland but also in Europe. The semi-finished products are made from various types of cereals, potatoes, and legumes, using only natural raw materials. The key factor contributing to the company’s current position on the market is continuous investment in the most modern and innovative technologies and production methods. With six GEA production lines installed in the factory, Jedność maintains high standards of quality and reliability, selling several thousand tons of pellets per year.
Since the development of the first production line in 2000, Jedność and GEA have strived to improve each step of the detailed process by reviewing each step in turn. From the raw ingredients and recipe structure, through to the cooking and drying processes, GEA has worked very closely with the customer to help Jedność get the most out of its production lines.
“We have continued to work with GEA because of the combination of the know-how of its technicians and the reliability of its technologies. The machines are durable and we have built up a trusting relationship over the years.”
Tomasz Przybylski
Owner and President of Jedność
State-of-the-art extrusion technology offers different shapes and different tastes
An important factor in the growth of Jedność’s range has been the flexibility offered by GEA’s technology. Color, shape and expansion rate can all be specified using extrusion, die or distance cutting equipment. This allows Jedność to develop creative new products and respond to changing customer demand with ease. Many parameters on the modern extruder can be adjusted to influence the appearance of the finished product. Thanks to GEA's many years of experience in extrusion technology, the company knows the raw materials and the reactions they undergo during extrusion to obtain the desired end product.
The six production lines produce a wide range of shapes from a wide variety of ingredients, including laminated, die cut, punched and 3D pellets based on potato, wheat and multi-grain. Pellets currently being produced by Jedność include wavy strips, die-cut pellets, bacon strips, shoe strings, perforated pellets, potato pellets and triangular chips.
View of perforated pellets produced at the Jedność plant.
Data-driven consistency
One of the key areas in which Jedność and GEA excel in is research and development and knowing that a consistently stable and controlled process is essential to producing a quality product in large quantities.
During the production phase, GEA’s user-friendly HMI system enables staff at Jedność to predict results based on production parameters and to detect and react in real time to any deviations that occur during each process. The system stores archival records of production parameters, providing the company with an invaluable database available for ongoing analysis.
All in all, the machinery installed by GEA has enabled Jedność to consistently achieve higher levels of precision and consistency in its production processes. This in turn has led to pellets of superior quality, that meet some of the highest standards in the snack industry.
“GEA’s data-driven approach to food manufacturing allows us to make simple but effective changes to the product in the research phase to ensure that the final product is exactly what the customer is looking for.”
Improvements in efficiency
The crucial process of drying the extruded product can affect both the semi-finished and finished product, so much attention must be paid to this part of the process. For this reason, the new dryers installed by Jedność allow better control of the process parameters, such as the drying stage and the distribution of moisture in the product.
The product behaves more favorably in the expansion phase and therefore looks better. Higher temperatures can also be achieved with the new dryers, but thanks to their design, they minimize radiation dispersion and are therefore more energy efficient.
View of product output and GEA dryers installed at Jedność.
Full-service partnership and long-term loyalty
GEA has played an integral role in developing exemplary products and equipment for Jedność, including the company’s new plant. Jedność chose to work with GEA because of its extensive experience in the pellet industry and the fact that GEA’s machinery could be perfectly tailored Jedność’s individual requirements.
“Being a GEA customer means being able to rely on a partner that provides a full service including machines, training, service, spare parts and knowledgeable personnel, from initial installation to ongoing maintenance. Having this support has allowed us to grow over time.”
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