Out-of-the-box compressed air solution for snack manufacturer

When London crisps and snacks manufacturer Kolak Snack Foods experienced an upturn in business and needed to increase its output capacity, the company decided to upgrade its production equipment, including its compressors.

In selecting new compressors, Kolak had several must-haves: reliability, continuity of output and no risk of contamination during process operations. To achieve this, Kolak chose to replace its existing units with Atlas Copco oil-free, rotary screw, full-feature machines.

The company installed two ZT 90 FF compressors and a ZT 90 VSD FF, which provide a guaranteed supply of high-quality air. As a result of the installation, the process air at Kolak’s London plant complies with the ISO 8573-1 (2010) CLASS 0 standard of air purity, which embraces the Class 0 industry standard. Class 0 measures all three forms of oil contamination: aerosol, vapour and liquid, and Atlas Copco was the first compressor manufacturer in the world to achieve the TÜV-certified standard for its zero-oil, zero-risk Z-series of stationary compressors.

In order to meet production demand, the plant operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning that energy efficiency was also an essential consideration in the selection of new compressors.

The ZT 90 VSD FF installed at Kolak Snack Foods.

“The Atlas Copco VSD compressor works in tandem with the base load compressors to cover all the main 7 bar plant air application duties, including heat exchanger, steam boiler and packing operations. This ensures that output is matched to demand in the most energy-efficient way, with the VSD compressor taking over any additional site load,” said Rikin Lakhani, Kolak’s director.

Each of the Atlas Copco compressors is a full-feature, total installation concept: a pre-wired and pre-piped solution, ready for use out of the box. According to Atlas Copco, integrating the compressor’s IMD dryer and its variable speed drive enables the compact package to supply high-quality dry compressed air at the lowest cost.

The IMD adsorption dryer eliminates moisture before it enters the air net to ensure a reliable process and contamination-free end product. No external energy is required to dry the air and, as the dryer needs no purge air, no compressed air is wasted. The pressure drop through the dryer is minimal, which also reduces the operating cost.

Kolak also entered into a 10-year Total Care agreement with Atlas Copco for compressor system maintenance and servicing. Atlas Copco undertakes responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the installation’s performance.

“We invested in the best possible service package in order to make us futureproof,” Rikin said.