Equipment News-q3-09

A Royal visit

UK

On July 8, HRH The Princess Royal visited Buhler Sortex’s recently constructed purpose-built manufacturing and research facility at Beckton in East London.

The company, a world leader in rice milling and optical sorting technology for the agricultural and food processing industries, moved to its new premises in July 2007 to accommodate the development of its previous site within the Olympic Park - the centrepiece of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

As president of the British Olympic Association and a noted Olympian, Her Royal Highness takes a keen interest in the legacy of the Games and the long term benefits that will result from the investment in urban renewal that they inspire.

During her visit she was shown all aspects of the manufacturing process and was given an overview of the research, marketing and administrative functions. She found a demonstration of the Sortex Z+ sorter in action of particular interest.

"When the two founders started the business in 1947 their first optical sorters could process a few pounds of peas an hour," said managing director Bruno Kilshaw, recalling the origin of the company - then known as Gunson’s Sortex - prior to its acquisition by Buhler AG of Switzerland in 1994. "Now we develop and manufacture sorters that ensure the most consistent and highest quality agricultural products by eliminating discolored and misshapen elements and foreign material with maximum efficiency. We can, for example, sort 12 tons of milled rice an hour. We have installations in over 100 countries and are active in every grain, pulse, nut, seed and frozen food sector.

"We may have had to move from our home at Pudding Mill Lane but we welcome the Olympics and see the Games as encouragement for us to continue to grow and innovate. Over the past four years we have grown our business by over 10% per annum and our 200 people will be delighted to know that our current order book shows an increase of more than 20% over last year," Kilshaw said.

"I was particularly delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness because we have won five Queens Awards for Industry in recent years. We shall make every effort to add to that total."

Efficient, eco-friendly

Germany

Rising energy costs are making resource-saving production increasingly important. A model with a green coffee processing capacity of 4,000kg/hr is now available in Probat’s particularly energy-efficient Saturn centrifugal roaster series. The burner directly fitted to Saturn 4000 makes long hot air piping redundant and thus minimizes energy losses. The heat stability of the components and the recirculation of the roast air also contribute to increased energy efficiency. And a customized exhaust air cleaning system provides for a reduction of emissions.

The centrifugal roasting process is particularly well suited to achieve a broad range of different roasting results at constant high quality standards. In the Saturn roasters, centrifugal forces effectuate a product-preserving mixing of the beans. This achieves a consistent bean pattern. The roastmaster has the possibility of influencing aroma development by adjusting numerous parameters such as roasting time, product temperature, and roast air volume. The roastmaster receives effective support for everyday operations through the user-friendly Pilot Roaster control as well as the Reflex Automatic function for reliable reproduction of roasting profiles.

Roasting companies with many different products and high quality standards in particular stand to benefit from the flexibility the Saturn series offers. These roasters allow roasting of very different green coffee. Whether beans for filter coffee, espresso or single-serve products – Saturn’s strength lies in its product-friendly roast in the medium roasting time range. The roasters in the series allow roasting times of 5-15 minutes. Saturn 4000 is constructed to process batch sizes of 480-640 kg. Due to their modular design, the series’ roasting machines are also easy to maintain and clean. An integrated working platform facilitates the respective work significantly.

Besides their flexible application areas and their energy efficiency, the roasters in the Saturn series are also characterized by their long service life. About 90% of all centrifugal roasters ever sold are still in operation today. After commissioning of the units, Probat continues to secure the roaster’s performance through the manufacturer’s long-term spare parts guarantee.

The first generation of centrifugal roasters was brought to market by Probat during the 1970s. A reengineering with technical improvements was carried out in 1996. A revised construction incorporating the tried and trusted features and a completely new design took place in 2006. Representing the series, Probat introduced Saturn 250 with an hourly performance of 250kg at the Interpack trade fair in 2008. In the wake of successful test roasts in its own pilot plant, the first units have already been delivered. A further model with an hourly performance of 2,500 kg will follow the now-available Saturn 4000.

New c-pod machine

Italy

Brasilia, second largest Italian manufacturer of coffee machines in the world, with more than 30 years experience in the professional segment is now launching a new product on the household and OCS market.

The company focuses mainly on the roasters who know the great potential of the portioned coffee and are already experiencing a very fast growth of the capsules and pods business worldwide.

In the last years, Brasilia has introduced in the market a lot of successful coffee machines such as the Opus Sublima that has radically changed the existing quality parameters and that has been chosen by Italian baristas as the ‘Best Espresso Coffee Machines’ (survey IPSOS - independent statistics institute - July 2008). Now the company presents Maki Pod to complete its presence in the portioned coffee segment. The recent and immediate success of the Maki Capsule, introduced in the market eight months ago, has allowed Brasilia to reach very important results in this segment, achieving a considerable market share. Maki Pod combines Brasilia professional experience with the already tested technologies of Maki Capsule, assuring a long functioning stability and a perfect brewing. Maki Pod is the only machine of this range with the automatic pod ejection system.

 

Racy espresso

Italy

For around US$1,200, you too can now be the proud owner of a new Bugatti. The makers of one of the world’s most venerated and desirable car brands has turned its hand to making highly desirable coffee machines.

The Bugatti Diva comes in eye-catching colors and incorporates a number of clever features in as stylish a package as any Italian espresso manufacturer could dream up.

The machine has a 15-bar pump and can make 2 cups of perfect espresso at a time. It can use both ground coffee and pods and has a steam wand, a temperature gauge and an integrated water tank/cup warmer. The machine also includes a drop system that guarantees fresh water intake from the tank, an innovation unique to the Diva. Shiny brass fittings complete the picture.

It may not go quite as fast as the Bugatti Veyron, but it does make a better cup of coffee…