Natra
Un seul flux, du cacao à la pâte à tartiner au chocolat
Natra Malle produit 80 millions de pots de pâte à tartiner au chocolat par an. Un pot sur dix vendu dans le monde est fabriqué dans cette usine belge. En 2011-12, INDEFF avait déjà modernisé l’installation de mélange. Les réservoirs et l’installation de remplissage fonctionnaient cependant sur un système distinct, qui avait déjà un certain âge. Il était temps de procéder à une mise à niveau ! Les ingénieurs d’INDEFF ont donc intégré l’installation de remplissage dans le système global du site.
Natra
One flow, from cocoa to chocolate spread
Natra Malle produces 80 million jars of chocolate spread a year. One in ten jars sold in the world is made in this Belgian factory. In 2011-12, INDEFF had already upgraded the mixing installation. The tanks and the filling installation, however, were running on a separate system that showed its age. Time for an upgrade! Time for INDEFF’s engineers to integrate the filling installation into the plant’s global system.
Seamless integration of the filling installation
Natra Malle’s filling installation, with over 40 tanks, was still running on an older Siemens S5 PLC with a SCADA that was not connected to the rest of the plant’s systems. To ensure a smoother production flow with complete traceability, we proposed an upgrade. Our solution? A Siemens S7 PLC running AVEVA’s System Platform, InTouch and track & tracing software.
Today, the entire plant works with AVEVA software. The client has complete control over the entire production process. For operators too, this was a significant upgrade. Every control panel now has the same look and feel, which makes training, maintenance and moving between workstations a lot easier.
The value of a long-term partnership
Many factories have several smaller automation systems operating alongside one another. At our clients’ plants, we proposed to replace these systems with a single, overarching solution to give them complete control over their production line. To realize this scenario, a long-term partnership is particularly useful. Thanks to INDEFF, the circle is now complete at Natra Malle. With an up-to-date mixing and filling installation, the company is ready to provide countless delicious breakfasts.
Recipe flexibility and scalability
As one of the world’s leading producers of chocolate and sweet spreads, Natra Malle has over 200 recipes and 500 end products. As a result, its large production installation needs a lot of flexibility to accommodate various recipes. At the same time, the client wanted a solution that could be transferred to new production lines easily and at a low cost. Ensuring flexibility and scalability proved to be a challenge but based on previous experiences and in close cooperation with the client, we came up with a fitting solution.
Goals
- Upgrade the filling installation’s hardware and software
- Integrate the filling installation into the plant’s global system
- Deliver user-friendly and uniform control interfaces
Challenges
- Coming up with a solution for a massive production line
- Ensuring maximum flexibility for various recipes and end products
- Implementing a solution that can be scaled easily and at a low cost
Results
- The entire plant is running on a single AVEVA system
- Complete traceability from ingredients to final product
- A long-term relationship to guarantee continuity in production