Page 29 - Climate Control News Magazine July 2021

Heat Exchangers
provided the most cost efficient and effective re- frigeration system and hot water demand sys- tem known to exist in this type of production facility,” Townsend said.
“We are thrilled to have their support on our project.”
A detailed evaluation of the temperature re- quirements for packing line heating needed to be measured based on the line speed to en- sure the product did not sit in the incorrect temperature for longer than required and to prevent issues surrounding quality, Townsend explained.
It meant installing an integrated system that would allow operators to program the heating systems on packing lines to turn on automatically based on shift times and de- mands, as well as one central plant room for all
“DYNAMIC CONTROL SYSTEMS WERE BUILT INTO PACKING EQUIPMENT FOR ON DEMAND HEATING.”
current packing lines, all while allowing poten- tial for future site growth.
“The cool rooms were designed around the controlled temperature required for a product to ensure its quality and reduce moisture loss, while accommodating for warm fruit coming off pack lines,” Townsend said.
“Dynamic control systems were designed and built into packing equipment to provide
FAR LEFT: The Montague family has been in the fruit business since 1948.
LEFT: The Montague site uses a custom heat exchanger to heat water for wax drying tunnels.
on demand heating for product as required. “Different programs for different product types have also been created and selected at the touch of a button by operators, ensuring the cor- rect temperature range is achieved and adjusted
to reduce risk of fruit damage.
“The new drying tunnel system has removed
some of the high-risk volatile goods (such as gas and ammonia refrigeration), which has typically been within proximity of people, and is now in a centralised plant room.”
Townsend said implementation of the refriger- ated Automatic Storage Retrieval System (ASRS) has also improved productivity and safety of the bin retrieval process.
She said the ASRS is 21-metre-high automated cool room, which helps to reduce the building footprint, and in-turn reduces the energy re- quired to refrigerate.
The Montague family has been in the fruit business since 1948, and today grows almost five million apple trees across six states in Aus- tralia.
In the past 70 years, it has expanded into stone fruits, pears, exotics, as well as juices and ciders, and the new Narre Warren North facility is set to enhance these capabilities even more.
Investing in the site has increased Montague’s apple packing capacity by 75 per cent, around 220 million apples a year, and stone fruit packing capacity by 166 per cent – the equivalent of 58 million pieces of fruit each season. ✺
This article was first published in CCN’s sister pub- lication Food and Drink Business.
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS JULY 2021
SWEP expansion plans
HEAT EXCHANGER MANUFACTURER SWEP has broken ground on an expansion of its plant in in Košice, Slovakia.
This, the third phase in SWEP’s expansion plans, and will add another 3000m2 to the Slovakian factory it established in 2005. Plans were announced at the beginning of last year to expand
the SWEP plants in Landskrona, Sweden, and Košice, Slovakia, in order to meet increasing market demand around the globe.
During summer 2020, new production equipment was in- stalled in the Swedish plant and all production lines were opti- mised. In addition, 500m2 of new office space was also added.
Expansion to the Košice factory commenced at the end of April. The expansion will provide increased press and furnace capacity. It is expected to be fully operational by mid-2022.
New office space in Sweden.
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