Mondelēz International
Gâteau classique, installation moderne
Mondelēz International est l’un des principaux producteurs mondiaux de produits alimentaires et de snacks. Avec une production de 85 000 tonnes par an, son site de Herentals (Belgique) est la plus grande biscuiterie d’Europe. Mondelēz International compte sur INDEFF pour ses besoins en automatisation depuis des années. Lorsque le moment est venu de moderniser la ligne de production de gâteaux Jaffa de l’usine et de l’intégrer au système global, l’entreprise s’est tout naturellement tournée une fois encore vers INDEFF.
Mondelēz International
Classic cake, modern installation
Mondelēz International is one of the world’s leading food and snack producers. Its plant in Herentals (Belgium) is the largest biscuit factory in Europe, producing 85,000 tons per year. Mondelēz International has been counting on INDEFF for its automation needs for years. So, when the time came to upgrade the plant’s Jaffa cake production line and integrate it into the global system, the company turned to INDEFF once more.
The odd one out
The Jaffa cake production process is different from that of other biscuits. Normally, a mixing installation makes dough from ingredients, which is passed onto a conveyor, cut into biscuits and baked. For Jaffa cakes, the mixture is spurted directly onto the conveyor belt in the familiar round shape. The old production line worked on a Siemens S5 installation with its SCADA. It wasn’t connected to the other systems in the factory. Moreover, the system was difficult to service and its components were aging.
Need for speed
In this project, the team faced a particular challenge. The Jaffa cake installation produces small batches in rapid succession. This meant that the control system needed to be capable to load the recipe and create the right ingredient mixes very quickly. Speed and performance were of utmost importance. Thanks to INDEFF’s experience and its long-term partnership with Mondelēz International, the winning recipe followed soon. The Jaffa cake production line is now running smoother than ever.
Full integration
INDEFF’s engineers set out to completely rebuild the production line, from cables and hardware to software and control panels. The Siemens S5 PLC was replaced by an S7 running AVEVA’s Archestra, InTouch, InBatch and reporting tools. As such, it is in line with the other systems at the plant and fully integrated with them. And the operators now work on control panels that all have the same look and feel.
The result of these upgrades and integrations? Mondelēz International has a single system to control and monitor all production flows.
Goals
- Upgrade old Jaffa cake production line
- Integrate the installation into the plant’s global system
- Provide a standardized operation interface
Challenges
- Completely rebuild the production line, from hardware to software
- Deliver a system that performs quickly to accommodate small batches
Results
- An up-to-date production line that is connected to all the others
- Improved serviceability and uniform interface
- The next step in a long-term partnership