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Contract drying specialist Uelzena launches new plant for the spray drying of infant food components

Uelzena eG's newly built "Tower 12" spray drying plant has been in regular operation for several months now. The plant is primarily designed for the production of ingredients for infant food under high-care conditions. With the new plant, the contract dryer from northern Germany, which specialises in food and infant food, intends to further expand its leading position in this product segment. A total of four spray towers of different sizes and configurations are now available for drying infant food components at the central production site in Uelzen (Lower Saxony).

"The requirements for product safety of ingredients for infant food, such as minerals or vitamins on carrier materials, have risen continuously in recent years. With this in mind and with the intention of further expanding existing partnerships with baby food manufacturers, the construction of a new high-care spray drying plant was a logical and logical step for us. In this way, we are ideally positioned to continue supporting our customers in the food and infant food industry as a preferred and sought-after specialist in the future." Bern Gewecke, Managing Director of Ingredients and Contract Manufacturing, explains the decision to build a new spray drying plant.  

Stand-alone spray drying plant for high-care productions

Alongside the main spray tower, the plant also includes other central areas such as a high-performance wet mixing area with various technologies for preparing different recipes, fully automated packaging lines and various technical and social rooms. Everything is embedded in a completely self-contained spray-drying plant that is state-of-the-art in terms of hygiene, technology and efficiency. The construction time, including the technical installations, was just over two years.  

The centrepiece of the new plant is the 15 m high spray tower with a flexible nozzle spraying system and a capacity of 650 - 750 kg of powder per hour. From the concentrate production up to the ready-packed powder in aluminium bags, the entire manufacturing process is recipe-controlled.

With the new spray drying plant, we can offer our customers state-of-the-art services in terms of technology, sustainable production and environmental protection. We are particularly proud of the very high hygiene level of the new plant," explains Simone Oeder, Sales Manager for Contract Drying. "Latest technology, a high degree of automation and a sophisticated hygiene concept ensure particularly safe production conditions for spray drying these sensitive product groups," continues Simone Oeder.

Optimised hygiene concept

A strict hygiene concept has been implemented throughout the entire plant. This includes four different hygiene zones with product and staff airlocks to separate the different production areas, containment systems on the active ingredient dosing and filling systems, elaborated cleaning concepts with separate washing and drying rooms for the cleaning of plant components as well as efficient ventilation and filter systems for fresh and exhaust air. Parts of the plant are certified in accordance with the strict EHEDG standard for hygienic plant design.

Sustainable and resource-saving production

In addition to the functional aspects, the plant is also at the cutting edge in terms of a sustainable and resource-saving production thanks to its energy-efficient concept. For example, the spray tower is encased and insulated to reduce heat loss and save energy. Heat exchangers in the ventilation systems ensure effective supply air preheating for the spray tower by recovering heat from the exhaust air. Wherever it is possible, the process heat is recovered and losses are minimised. All cleaning processes are optimised to save resources and are also reduced to a minimum thanks to various measures.