New flexible HPC plant from GEA

Published: 15-Jan-2014

GEA Liquid Processing, part of the GEA Group, has recently embarked upon a new project to provide Bosnian (Bosnia Herzegovinian) company - Violeta Ltd...

New flexible HPC plant from GEA makes wide product range for Violeta in Bosnia Herzegovina

GEA Liquid Processing, part of the GEA Group, has recently embarked upon a new project to provide Bosnian (Bosnia Herzegovinian) company - Violeta Ltd. with a fully automatic, multi-purpose liquid processing plant for the production of home and personal care products. The new plant will allow Violeta to enter the Home and Personal Care (HPC) market with a high degree of hygiene, flexibility and operator safety that will enable it to follow the demands of customers and create new opportunities in a market that has, to date, been dominated by foreign imports. This flexible manufacturing approach will also allow Violeta to produce its wide range of products much less expensively than if using traditional technology.

Violeta opened for business in 1990 and became extremely successful as an exclusive importer and distributor of European brands like Ferrero, Barilla etc. In early 2000 Violeta invested in equipment for production of toilet tissue and kitchen towels and ever since Violeta has expanded with production of different categories like baby diapers, baby wet wipes, cosmetic wipes, lady napkins, handkerchiefs and table napkins. However earlier this year, and in line with its policy of innovation, Violeta made a bold decision to invest in its own production technology that would allow it to manufacture its own HPC products specifically for the markets in the region and to adjust production in line with market trends.

The new plant, which is still at the design stage, will occupy a green field site and be built to the same standard of hygiene that GEA Liquid Processing employs for food-grade applications such as dairies and breweries. This means that product will be manufactured in a closed system that can produce relatively small batches and be switched as necessary to manufacture a wide variety of products. By comparison with traditional technology that requires a dedicated production line for each product, the system is much more flexible, less expensive and provides a safer, contained working environment for Violeta staff.

The equipment supplied directly by GEA includes the raw material reception, raw material storage, dosage systems, mixing systems including GEA’s new BATCH FORMULA™ technology, final product storage and Clean In Place (CIP). The plant will operate according to international hygiene and production standards, producing superior quality products that will meet the highest standards for sustainability. “The whole point is that we can flush the plant; clean it effectively; make it safe; change products at will; ensure that raw materials, some of which are extremely aggressive, are handled safely; and guarantee the security of outcome for the customer,” explained Søren Sandahl Skov, Area Sales Manager Biotech and HPC for GEA Liquid Processing.

But although GEA Liquid Processing is designing the plant using proven technology, according to Søren, it is a challenging project nevertheless. “Many of the products are extremely viscous and need to be transported in heat-traced pipes and stored in temperature controlled tanks,” he explained. “Some of the products are also very aggressive and can cause skin irritation, so we have built in a high degree of safety to protect the workforce.” GEA also uses pigging systems to recover product efficiently during product changeover and minimise the use of chemicals during the cleaning process; and has used its experience of plant design to avoid dead ends in the pipe-work thereby making cleaning easier and more effective.

“The co-operation with the GEA team has been professional and the team is always at our disposal for questions and support. We are excited to follow the tests coming up on the units both in Denmark and in Bosnia Herzegovina and are very satisfied with the choice of GEA as a supplier,” says Ante Milos, Managing Director at Violeta.

The new plant is planned to enter full production in the spring of 2014, and as the market matures Violeta has the opportunity of extending the plant to 24/7 operation or adding further mixers to meet demand.

The GEA Group, the parent company of GEA Liquid Processing, is recognised as an innovator and technology leader and is certified by The European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) for the high hygiene standards of its process technology.

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