Industrial Freezing Results Are Driven by Investments

Some of the big players in the industry have announced positive financial results, based on profitable transactions made in the last financial year, but also due to the introduction of new equipment and technologies for the industrial freezing market.

By Dan Orehov, Editor – Frozen Food Europe, and Catalina Mihu

JBT Corporation, one of the leading global providers of solutions and equipment for the food processing industry, has recently announced its full-year results for 2013. Of particular interest, JBT FoodTech’s record fourth-quarter revenue of USD187.8 m increased slightly over the fourth quarter in 2012. Strong sales of fruit and juice equipment was offset by lower freezing equipment sales, while the segment operating profit of USD21.5 m decreased by 10 percent from the same period in 2012, driven primarily by higher execution costs in Europe. According to company representatives, strong order activity for freezing and protein processing equipment, particularly in Asia, drove the increase in inbound orders.

“Our business is healthy and we expect to drive moderate revenue growth in the year. We also have taken several steps for long-term value creation beyond 2014, including operational excellence initiatives and restructuring actions. While associated costs are expected to impact 2014 earnings, we are confident the actions will drive significant future earnings growth,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Giacomini.

According to the company’s latest financial report, for the first quarter of 2014, it expects revenue to increase by about 10 percent over the first quarter of 2013. Due to an unfavorable sales mix and higher corporate expense in the quarter, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations is expected to be slightly above breakeven, compared to USD0.14 in the first quarter of 2013. This estimate excludes restructuring charges the company plans to incur in the first quarter. The same report states that for the full year, the company anticipates a revenue growth in the mid-single digit range. JBT expects total segment operating margin in 2014 to remain flat relative to 2013, excluding benefits from operational excellence and restructuring initiatives. While these initiatives will impact 2014 earnings, the actions are expected to drive future margin expansion and significant earnings growth.

JBT FoodTech also issued a statement saying that it has recently signed a contract valued in excess of USD4 m, with an international bakery company for proofing and freezing equipment. The company will supply and integrate its Frigoscandia® GYRoCOMPACT® M10 proofing and freezing technology into a North American-based bakery facility. “We are very pleased with the confidence expressed in both JBT’s leading bakery solutions and proven track record for field service and technical support,” said Steve Smith, vice president and division manager for JBT FoodTech. The project is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year.

Millions Invested in Freezing Equipment

Marketer and manufacturer of specialty food brands, Inventure Foods, has recently announced major investment plans in 2014, which include the purchase of two state-of-the-art IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) freezing tunnels for an estimated total purchase price of USD3.9 m this year. The company expects to install the new tunnels in the second quarter of 2014, prior to the harvest season, at its US berry processing facilities in Lynden, WA and Salem, OR. With manufacturing facilities in Arizona, Indiana, Washington, Oregon and Georgia, Inventure Foods produces specialty food brands in better-for-you and indulgent categories under a variety of company-owned and licensed brand names, including Boulder Canyon Natural Foods®, Jamba®, Seattle’s Best Coffee®, Rader Farms®, T.G.I. Friday’s®, Nathan’s Famous®, Vidalia Brands®, Poore Brothers®, Tato Skins®, Willamette Valley Fruit CompanyTM, Fresh FrozenTM and Bob’s Texas Style®.

“We continue to look for opportunities to meet growing demand for our frozen fruit products, while also improving margins in our frozen fruit segment by increasing our internal freezing capabilities,” said Terry McDaniel, Chief Executive Officer of Inventure Foods, Inc.

“This intended investment is our latest move in that operational strategy. When this equipment is coupled with the freezing assets we acquired this year at Willamette Valley Fruit Company and Fresh Frozen Foods, we will have made significant progress toward meeting our frozen fruit processing requirements internally.”

Reducing Energy Costs

Baking oven belt manufacturer Sandvik’s annual report shows that invoiced sales in 2013 amounted to 87.328 million SEK (98.529) and profit after financial items was 6.753 million SEK (11.516). Profit was negatively impacted by 1,080 million SEK as a result of exchange rate effects and by 2,140 million SEK due to non-recurring costs. The year marks the launch of a long list of products for Sanvik, and growth is anticipated in the developing markets of Asia, Latin America and Africa. With energy efficiency high on the agenda of all businesses these days, bakeries are not alone in having to look at every aspect of their operation to eliminate unnecessary waste. “And with as much as 25 per cent of a baking oven’s total energy consumption used to heat the baking belt, this is an area with significant potential for savings,” Sandvik details on its Graphite station for baking oven belts.

Environmental awareness and economic necessity are leading more bakery operations to consider switching from traditional wire mesh baking bands to solid or perforated steel belts. “The heavier the oven belt, the greater the energy requirement to heat it,” explains Fabio Conti, Global Product Manager, Food, at Sandvik. “Solid steel belts are lighter than wire mesh so cost significantly less to heat. Each time the belt exits the baking chamber, it begins to cool and has to be heated up again so the savings are continuous.”

“This weight advantage also means less power is needed to physically move the belt. Switching to a steel belt reduces energy costs: it’s a simple equation and one that becomes ever more attractive as energy prices rise.” Sandvik’s steel belts can also be supplied in a range of perforation patterns, giving bakeries the best of both worlds: the ability to handle products best suited to either mesh or steel belt baking.

Steel belts have been used by the baking industry for decades and remain the preferred baking medium for many operations. The hard, smooth surface has excellent thermal properties and ensures easy, clean product release. It stays flat, retains its shape, and allows faster belt speeds for increased production. And the exceptional durability of a steel belt means that a working life of 20+ years is certainly not unusual; some have lasted more than half a century. For many, one of the other key advantages is the ease with which a steel belt can be cleaned. Being hard, flat and smooth, there are no hidden areas in which waste can collect. This makes cleaning easier and faster, minimizing production lost to routine downtime.

Regular and effective cleaning is vital to both the lifetime of the belt and the quality of end product, and Sandvik has recently introduced an innovative new system that simplifies and speeds up the job of removing burnt on carbon residues: the QuickCleaner.

This system blasts salt (actually a combination of baking soda and calcium phosphate) onto the belt at high pressure to remove the bulk of the residue. A chemical action then attacks the organic residues at the molecular level. Capable of reducing cleaning times by as much as 70 per cent, the process is dry (no risk of rust), safe (no dangerous chemicals) and suitable for solid or perforated steel belts, wire mesh conveyors or any other material that comes into contact with food.

The inherent strength and durability of a steel belt brings with it other advantages, not least being a baking medium that stays flat and keeps its shape. This operational dependability has been a key focus in recent years and Sandvik supplies a range of tracking systems for efficient belt alignment, together with the cast iron and graphite skid bars necessary to provide efficient belt support. The new Compact Belt Tracker (CBT), available in a range of sizes to suit belt widths from 600-3000 mm, is a light, self-supporting construction and can be installed on any conveyor. The device uses two wedges driven by an electric linear actuator to create a tilting movement via a set of rollers. Control options range from simple logical control to sophisticated PID control.

New Precision Solutions

In Nuremberg, Germany, GEA Refrigeration Technologies will introduce a number of new developments at Chillventa, on November 14-16. It will premiere the new F28, an open GEA Bock piston compressor, and include the GEA BluGenium chiller series (maximum cooling duty of approx. 280 to 1200 kW). Likewise new is the compact G100 ice generator, made of stainless steel.

The new GEA Omni control system will also be presented, a control system for refrigeration and gas compression facilities, featuring a multi-touch HD display, which enables context-sensitive menu navigation. The product is called “GEA Omni” because it is an open system that can control the components of a refrigeration facility or a gas compressor facility – and not only GEA equipment, but also that of other manufacturers, making often unnecessary the use of separate, auxiliary control systems for periphery components. Various maintenance functions, the support of common industrial communication standards, and a clearly organized panel simplify initial startup and plant service. Manufactured in North America, Europe, and Asia, GEA Omni consists of a uniform design engineered to meet the needs of a global customer base. Preconfigured in more than 25 languages, the display carries the benefit of global sales and support.

Pictured: GEA Omni interface