Bühler Aeroglide Classes Designed to Improve Processing Operations and Recoup Lost Revenue

CARY, N.C. - Oct. 23, 2014 - PRLog -- Bühler Aeroglide, a global leader in thermal process engineering and technology for food, feed, and industrial materials, will hold a drying seminar in Cary, North Carolina, on December 9-11, 2014.  The seminar aims to help participants learn and apply drying theory to enhance the performance of processing equipment and improve product quality.

Most conveyor dryers operate 10%-30% below their potential efficiency and this is a frequent source of lost revenue, even in smaller production lines.  Bühler Aeroglide’s seminar teaches participants the basics of drying theory through a combination of focused and concentrated lectures followed by hands on laboratory sessions.  It’s December seminar will be held at the company’s technical center in Cary, NC, where a variety of dryer simulations are used to demonstrate and evaluate processing.

“Our most recent drying theory seminar in Barcelona helped European participants understand drying and apply knowledge to their own specific products and processing operations,” said Joe Tordella, Manager of Field Engineering at Bühler Aeroglide.  “Each time, our goal is to teach particular skills needed to evaluate drying operations and produce a baseline of improvements regardless of a dryer’s make or model.  In the end, participants should be able to go back and train their own colleagues on best drying procedures to improve efficiency, increase production and achieve optimum product quality.”

Drying Theory Put to Practice explores drying basics including parameters, balancing, evaluating, mechanical inspections and troubleshooting with a dryer simulation.  By learning how to adjust and regulate the process for the desired outcome, participants find hidden areas of opportunity in the drying process.  In the long run, this can mean large savings and increased capacity.  Bühler Aeroglide also provides site evaluations to establish baselines for these improvements.

 “We recently helped a processor of dried fruit realize significant improvements,” said Tordella. “With adjustments in zone temperatures and modifications in product bed depths, the processor achieved a 20% increase in product capacity. For a charcoal briquette processor, modifications meant a 25% savings in energy and a moisture adjustment meant more product weight could be packaged.”

To provide an example scenario, if a processor generates 10 tons of a product in an hour at a 10% discharge moisture content, this equates to 240 tons per day. Operating 325 days a year, the result would be 78,000 tons a year.  But if the processor raises the moisture set point by as little as a quarter of a percent to 10.25%, there could be an improvement of 217 tons a year. Therefore, a small adjustment like this can mean a significant increase in production as well as a better use of dryer energy.

The three-day-interactive training program was created for plant managers, project managers, plant engineers and quality control personnel.  It also teaches advanced drying concepts and measurement practices in a hands-on lab session combined with advance calculation methods used for dryer sizing. On day two, the class gets to address a mystery product and develop an out-of-the-box approach to solve a drying issue.  For more information and to register, please contact Carolyn Gill at Buhler Aeroglide headquarters at +1 919-851-2000 or email carolyn.gill@buhlergroup.com.

Bühler Aeroglide has a long history of teaching customers how to identify and implement process improvements.  The company’s field engineering group has provided expertise and evaluation services to processors around the world for over 15 years, driven by three guiding principles: educate, evaluate and enhance.  Education is provided through drying theory and dryer maintenance seminars.  Equipment and process evaluations provide the greatest potential for energy savings, improved product quality and increased throughput.  Enhancement of the drying operation remains the primary goal.

Bühler Aeroglide manufactures dryers, ovens, roasters, toasters, and hot air expansion systems for the food, feed and industrial product markets. Since 1940, the company has been providing innovations for a better world in the form of high-quality thermal processing equipment. As a business unit of Bühler, Aeroglide is headquartered in Cary, NC, and provides sales and service for its industry-leading equipment in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information about Bühler Aeroglide, call +1 919 851 2000, or visit www.buhlergroup.com/drying.

For more information, please contact:

Nick Manley, Marketing Communications

Bühler Aeroglide, 100 Aeroglide Dr., Cary, NC USA

Phone +1 919 278 2864, Fax +1 919 851 6029, E-mail nick.manley@buhlergroup.com