Unibic airs new production line

Unibic has optimised production at its specialty biscuit, cake and pastry manufacturing plant with the aid of a customised compressed air audit and an energy-efficient compressed air system.

Since the early 1950s, Australian food manufacturer Unibic has been producing fine specialty biscuits, cakes and pastries for local and international markets. In order to meet rising market demand for its popular brands, Unibic recently upgraded its Melbourne production facility with the addition of a new high-output manufacturing line.

Significantly, the addition of the new manufacturing line would place additional load on the facility’s already overburdened compressed air system, which comprised two 37 kW compressors and a filter/dryer package. As a result, Unibic decided to execute a plant-wide overhaul of its compressed air system in tandem with the production line expansion.

Unibic carried out a plant-wide overhaul of its compressed air system in tandem with a production line expansion.

In keeping with Unibic’s commitment to the community and environment, the company implemented an energy-efficient compressed air solution from Australian air compressor specialist Champion Compressors.

Cookies, cake and compressed air

Food-grade compressed air is vital to Unibic’s manufacturing process. Almost all of the company’s production-line processes require compressed air to operate depositors, wrapping machines and baggers, as well as valve and instrument actuation.

Champion Compressors' Regional Sales Manager-Vic/Tas/SA Daryl Davis (left) and Unibic Australia General Manager - Manufacturing Mark Seeley discuss the operational benefits of the new compressed air system.

“Compressed air is essential for producing a quality product and plays a significant role in achieving the texture and taste of some of our most popular products,” says Mark Seeley, Unibic Australia General Manager - Manufacturing. “However, prior to the plant upgrade, we were experiencing some minor pressure-drop concerns with our existing compressed air system and wanted to address these before they became problematic.”

Food-grade compressed air is vital to Unibic’s manufacturing process and plays a significant role in achieving product texture and taste.

The Unibic team sought out a reliable compressed air system that could efficiently meet the newly extended plant’s demand for compressed air, while maintaining air quality, reducing energy consumption and delivering ongoing reliability. The first step in this process was to engage Champion Compressors to carry out a comprehensive compressed air system audit.

Audit understanding

According to Champion Compressors’ Regional Sales Manager-Vic/Tas/SA, Daryl Davis, assessing Unibic’s existing compressed air system performance was an essential first step. “Before we even thought about devising a solution, it was crucial that we developed a comprehensive understanding of the plant’s compressed air usage profile,” he says. “We accurately evaluated how much compressed air Unibic required for its existing processes, how much air was currently being generated and at what pressure, and what proportion of this was being lost.”

Champion Compressors conducted this detailed compressed air audit utilising its AirMetrix energy monitoring unit. “AirMetrix is a comprehensive auditing tool that has the ability to monitor and log the performance of the entire compressed air system, taking power, pressure and flow measurements directly,” says Davis. “We took direct KPI measurements at the factory’s compressors themselves, the outlet of compressors, dryers and filters, and at multiple points of the facility’s air reticulation network - old and new.”

Furthermore, AirMetrix was used to perform complex calculations, providing useful and meaningful data, which enabled a full life-cycle evaluation of Unibic’s compressed air installation. “We were able to provide Unibic with a virtual picture of the facility’s compressed air system,” says Davis. “We discovered that the existing compressed air system was undersized, the pressure drop across the filter/dryer package was excessive, and that there were deficiencies in the air reticulation pipe work - all contributing factors to why the compressed air system was struggling to keep pace with Unibic’s ever-increasing compressed air requirements.”

VSD efficiency

Using the results of the AirMetrix audit, Champion Compressors customised a compressed air solution to Unibic’s specific requirements. The new compressed air system comprises a single Champion 45 kW CSE45V variable speed drive (VSD) compressor, paired with a redesigned filter/dryer package and air reticulation pipe work. The two legacy 37 kW compressors have also been incorporated into the compressed air system design.

Almost all of Unibic’s production-line processes require compressed air to operate depositors, wrapping machines and baggers, as well as valve and instrument actuation.

“The VSD compressor is ideally suited to fluctuating-load applications like Unibic’s, and can significantly improve energy efficiency,” says Davis. “Here, the VSD unit operates as the ‘trim’. This means it will run continuously and efficiently to accommodate the majority of Unibic’s compressed air requirements. When the air-load exceeds that of the VSD compressor, one of the 37 kW compressors kicks in to provide a higher operating range for the VSD compressor to trim.” The other 37 kW compressor provides additional redundancy.

Also, a dedicated large-bore air-line and air receiver was implemented to service one of the plant’s more air-intensive processes. “This means there is less chance of individual production processes impacting the operation and performance of the rest of the manufacturing facility,” says Seeley. “So far, we’re very happy with the new compressed air installation - the pressure drop is down and we are producing and using compressed air more efficiently.”

Smooth operator

From start to finish, the compressed air system audit-specification-install process was trouble free and delivered on time and on budget. “Champion knows its stuff. They’re not just selling a product, they’re providing a complete engineered solution,” says Seeley. “Once the audit was completed, they provided us with a design, complete with an intricate work-plan and timeline. The whole process was extremely quick, with the compressed air system installed and online without any production downtime.”

The decision to go with Champion was a simple one from Unibic’s perspective. “I’ve been lucky enough to visit Champion’s manufacturing facility and witness how they build their compressors,” says Seeley. “They’re an impressive outfit and extremely professional in the way they go about the problem-solving and the manufacturing processes. In fact, I’ve visited a variety of manufacturing plants all over the world, and Champion’s manufacturing methods rate among the best I’ve seen.”

To ensure the new compressed air system continues to operate reliably and efficiently, Unibic has signed up for a service agreement with Champion. This comprises routine maintenance and servicing, and emergency breakdown cover. “As the compressors use food-grade lubricant, they require more frequent servicing when compared with general-use compressors,” says Seeley. “Champion ensures that our compressed air system is fully maintained to provide uninterrupted food-grade compressed air.”

Fully supported by Champion Compressors, the upgraded compressed air system is performing well, allowing Unibic to focus on the process of providing a comprehensive range of biscuits, cakes and pastries for Australia’s families. “Compressed air generation is as efficient as it’s ever been and air quality is first class,” says Seeley. “We now have a very reliable supply of air for our expanded facility, and have the ability to increase compressed air production to mirror future production-line expansions if need be.”