Modular hygienic conveyors

Interroll is expanding its existing product offering of conveyor solutions for additional industries with the launch of new platforms that meet stringent hygienic requirements.

The new Modular Hygienic Platform (MHP) will make available modular solutions based on the principles of hygienic product design. This makes it possible to significantly improve food safety and shelf life – while at the same time optimizing energy and operational efficiency.

The new Special Hygienic Conveyor (SHC) makes zero-pressure-accumulation material flows possible in food processing work processes, which until now have usually been used only in modern parcel centres or other distribution facilities. The decentralized drive used in the Special Hygienic Conveyor (SHC) saves up to 50 percent energy in start-stop operation alone compared to centralized drive solutions that run continuously. At the same time, this results in a noise level that provides an improved working environment and reduced wear and tear when conveying standard E2 crates.

With the modular platform, system integrators can handle both simpler and highly complex tasks in automatic conveying of packaged food and other hygiene-sensitive products. The SHC can be used without a programmable logic controller (PLC), or in digitally networked Industry 4.0. environments.

The new conveyor enables precise positioning of goods on the conveyor. This allows for integration with labeling machines, for example.

“With the Special Hygienic Conveyor we are once again confirming the responsibility that falls to us as a technology leader in the material-handling sector when it comes to food safety and shelf life. With the new solutions, we are continuing to consistently drive forward our group-wide platform strategy,” said Stephan Kronholz, who is responsible for new hygienic platform solutions at Interroll.

The SHC platform is manufactured from stainless steel, and is designed to allow cleaning liquids to drain off. The SHC platform includes both roller and belt conveyors, and all components of these conveyors, including electrical products such as RollerDrive and corresponding controls (IP 55 MultiControl), are certified to at least IP 55 and protected against splashing water, so that simple cleaning operations can be carried out and no liquid residues remain in the conveyor afterward that could lead to business-critical functional or hygiene impairments.

Interroll is also launching the Ultra Hygienic Transfer (UHT), an automation solution specifically suited for use in plants dedicated to chicken processing.

The Modular Hygienic Platform (MHP) will be manufactured in a new production plant at the existing site in Baal, Germany, near Düsseldorf.