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Mastering complex refinement processes

The food industry is a particular challenge to automation companies, presenting a unique array demands that have to be addressed in ways unlike those of other industries. However, the need for information sharing and data collection is just as vital.

Advanced information-enabled technology is in especially strong demand, in the food manufacturing industry, with meat and fish processing companies using an array of complex machines to process different foodstuffs in many different ways. Typical processing systems include hot-smoke units, hot air and cooking units, pasteurisation equipment, boiler systems, cooling machines, cold-smoke chambers, maturing systems, thawing, drying and smoking systems.

It is the supply of this type of equipment that has brought German company Schröter Technologie GmbH & Co. KG international success, with its technology being used to refine standard meat and poultry products, such as hot dogs, sausages, cold cuts and various convenience products – turning them into top-flight products. Quality, innovation and customer orientation are the principles that have guided the company to a leading position in this segment in over 40 countries.

Schröter places a lot of emphasis on sophisticated control systems to ensure that the processes running on its machines remain transparent. It was for this reason that it chose to integrate control systems from Rockwell Automation in its machines. Customer demands and impetus also played a large part in the company’s decision to go with us. “All the equipment we make is tailored to customer needs or is specially built for the customer,” explains Joachim Gödeke, who manages electrical engineering at Schröter Technologie GmbH & Co. KG. “A lot of our machines are delivered to customers in the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and in those markets Rockwell Automation’s technology is quite simply the standard.”

For Schröter, it is important to ensure that all of its technology partner’s systems can be operated using a touch screen. Describing the components his company utilises, Gödeke elaborates: “We use the PanelView 700+ or the PanelView 1000+ for operation and usually CompactLogix for the controls.” Schröter also integrates MicroLogix controls in smaller applications such as smoke generators. In addition, some of the older machines include the SLC 500, used mainly in system extensions for customers who already have it in operation. Another advantage of our systems is that spare parts for them are available anywhere in the world.

The programming of the controls is undertaken by Schröter to meet the individual requirements of each customer. Although Schröter has the final say on what will be included in its machines, it often requests information from Rockwell Automation about which components might be relevant. Schröter staff develop an idea during the planning phase of how they want the automated controls to perform, and we make tailored proposals on that basis.

Gödeke describes the collaboration: “Using the information we get at trade shows or in discussions with Rockwell Automation, we work with them to select control systems components. We also tell them our ideas about the types of technology we want to use. This collaboration then generates new ideas on improvements.” The collaboration focuses mainly on the choice of hardware, which is then programmed by Schröter. If any questions arise at this point, Rockwell Automation’s support is there to solve any problems.

Our control and operating components can be easily integrated into Schröter’s machines when the planning phase is over and the production process has already started. There are no adaptation problems – an important advantage because the controls in the hot smoke and air conditioning systems regulate the entire highly complex program sequence. The control panel needs to be suitable for the entry of recipes, which are actually program sequences. The control panel is also used to set the type of process the food is to undergo, such as boiling, smoking or colouring. It is essential that the information is processed with maximum precision.

Schröter uses programming software from us to program the controls, enabling the company to create tailored programs for each machine – to customer specifications. “Our tools are from Rockwell Automation, but we develop the user software ourselves,” emphasises Gödeke. He also mentions that Schröter machines and systems present a particular challenge for automation. Although most of the control system tasks are routine, things like temperature regulation are not necessarily available from every vendor.

According to Schröter, Rockwell Automation has proved itself to be a partner with an important degree of reliability – and that is clear from the fact that its technology is used in the entire range of Schröter’s machines and systems. Schröter is currently putting a particular focus on hot-smoking machines due to the growing demand for very large systems of this type in the USA. And with the control systems technology from Rockwell Automation, Schröter is well equipped to meet this demand.