AZO GmbH & Co. KG

The Solution

Careful handling of bulk materials and powders in the manufacture of spice blends/aromas

• Where bulk materials and powders used to produce spice blends are concerned, great care needs to be taken in handling the raw materials in order to preserve product properties. At the same time, it is vital to keep allergens and non-allergens separate. It is essential to prevent raw materials from being contaminated.

• These requirements frequently result in the use of AZO’s hybrid systems, i.e. the pneumatic conveying systems are combined with AZO’s handling systems for bulk materials containers.

• Bulk components, usually stored in outdoor silos, are very often conveyed pneumatically into a vacuum conveying scales in the mixing area. Apart from conventional conveying systems for handling raw materials in the area of automatic weighing, dense-phase conveying systems can also be used if needed, such as AZO®VakuumPlus. These ensure that raw materials are conveyed carefully over a distance of up to 100 metres.

• The many different raw materials are conveyed from the silos or other receptacles for raw materials, such as big bags and sacks, into indoor silos via discharge bases. The indoor silos are allocated to different groups according to the type of flavour and other product properties.

• Various automation concepts can be implemented depending on the number of raw materials and the different recipes. In one of the examples shown, the job is to automate 250 raw materials in around 2000 recipes. A special-purpose bulk goods container from AZO is supported on between one and four automated guided vehicles (AGV) equipped with platform scales. The AGV transports the target container underneath the dosing point and connects the container to the dosing unit. The docking device is fitted with a trickle guard slider to prevent cross-contamination and may also be equipped with a device for raising and lowering the cover of the bulk materials container as a further option.

• Alternatively, it is possible to use the linear-design AZO COMPONENTER® or the AZO ShuttleDos® systems.