Technology and automation are transforming food processing. Digital technologies are disrupting all parts of the value chain and optimisation is becoming increasingly important for businesses as they try to stay profitable and remain competitive.
For those considering optimisation — choosing the right equipment for your process — will be crucial to the success of your investment. And, while the concept of optimisation may sound daunting — the timing has never been better.
Years of research and development have led to many new (and emerging) technologies for the food processing industry. There are fast, high-performance and sustainable processing solutions now available, for just about every area of your line, and we have new approaches to old problems.
Digital technologies are paving the way for a new era of customisation, and we have a range of exciting innovations — both small and large operations can benefit from.
As technology and automation continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and as we truly begin to move into industry 4.0, working with an experienced optimisation partner is a strategic decision that will pay big dividends.
So, what is optimisation and why does it matter for my operation now?
At Heat and Control, we’ve been engineering and building customised process and packaging lines for over 70 years. We invest significantly in our own research and development, and we’ve pioneered many of the industry-changing solutions used by the leading brands today.
The idea of ‘optimisation’ isn’t new. In most general terms, it’s a concept that can be applied across multiple areas of a business to achieve any number of desired outcomes — usually by identifying inefficiencies and fixing them — to keep things running smoothly.
While it may sound simple, anyone who’s had any type of experience with optimisation will attest, it usually isn’t. Despite significant benefits on offer — like more automation, higher capacity, bigger yields, increased efficiency, better use of raw materials, less waste, better products and sizable cost savings — many believe optimisation will be either too expensive, or too time-consuming.
But, as the industry continues to deal with high energy costs, increasing commodity prices, seemingly never-ending inflation, and adoption of sustainability practices — the perceived pain of optimisation is lessening.
As each of these areas gets harder to manage with in-house strategies and continues to put pressure on your ability to be profitable and stay competitive — we start to see why optimisation is so important.
For many food processors, an excessive amount of options, lack of familiarity with the new and emerging technologies and/or associated processes, lack of time to investigate, and perceived time to implement — become very real roadblocks, in the way of much-needed upgrades and improvements.
Technology paralysis is identified as one of the biggest barriers to growth in the coming years — but it shouldn’t be — the right optimisation partner should be able to understand your needs now, and in the years ahead.
For some — optimisation can be achieved with the adoption of a single piece of new equipment, or with an upgrade to some existing equipment. For others, it might involve design, manufacture and delivery of a completely new and fully customised solution. But, regardless of scale; effective optimisation is only achieved when all the various processes, resources, and systems of your organisation are integrated through a consolidated approach.
Sure, you can improve production with a new piece of cutting-edge equipment, or a fancy new software package. But, it is only by understanding these acquisitions — in the full context of your product/s, their application/s and the unique requirements of your business — that true optimisation is achieved.
At Heat and Control, we specialise in customisation to suit every customer’s unique and individual needs.
We start by seeking to understand your needs and required outcomes, or what challenges you’re currently facing. We then move on to benchmarking all the available solutions, before recommending the most optimal setup for your specific goals.
A quality optimisation partner will be able to map your return on investment, so you can feel confident in your decision to optimise.
While focus areas for optimisation will be dependent on your application; many of the overarching themes are the same. At the moment, we have customers interested in automation, energy efficiency, resource management, and sustainability; key talking points include water savings, CO2 reduction, energy savings, oil savings, improving product quality, increasing yield, and reducing labour.
We understand — adapting or upgrading new equipment and/or technology can be a significant investment, but it shouldn’t be a daunting one. Perhaps you have a problem with some existing equipment, or it’s a challenging factory footprint, getting in the way of much-needed upgrades. Or, maybe you have a grand plan for future expansion, or a complete sustainability overhaul — but you don’t know where to start.
With so much time in the business — we’ve seen just about every problem a customer can face, and helped them overcome it — while riding the wave of challenging market conditions alongside them.
Choosing an optimisation partner who understands your product/s, and the application/s and has the ability to model the overall process, is the quickest and easiest way to unlock the true potential of an investment in optimisation.
At Heat and Control, our research and development has recently culminated — in a number of groundbreaking, new solutions for the food industry. We have the answers you’ve been looking for — and when you’re ready — we’re ready.