New weighing and mixing equipment test centre opens in UK
The new facility, sited at the company’s headquarters at Ringwood in southern England, is a fully equipped research and development laboratory complete with weighing, mixing, compressed air and refrigeration, according to European sales manager Andrew Kay.
Pre-mixed ingredients
“The new lab offers customers the opportunity to bring in raw materials or pre-mixed ingredients to try out our equipment under real conditions before purchase,” he told FoodProductionDaily.com.
Installed in the laboratory are the company’s key product lines such as the FT102X Carbonator-Filter, the FT111 Rapid Extractor and the FT74DI Steam Injection UHT System. Also available in the lab are FT80 Spray Drier and the FT25 Modular Scraped |Surface Heat Exchanger System.
“The company is dedicated to serving the needs of researchers in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries with a range of innovative miniature-scale machines which allow developers to improve exiting products and to create new ones,” said Kay.
Plant processes
First to the use the facilities was Vietnamese flavour and extract company Golden Frog Flavor and Fragrance. The company, which develops and produces sweet and savory flavours used products ranging from noodles and sauces to confectionery, wanted to replicate production plant processes on a small scale in order to speed up product development and boost efficiency.
It successfully used Armfield’s FT80 Spray Drier to test powders it is developing for a range of ingredients including meat stock, mixed herbs and fruits, said company director Tuyet Nhung.
