The food industry has adapted and reinvented itself many times over in order to meet the needs of an ever-changing world. Today, hygiene and safety regulations are commonplace but that was not always the case. And if you happen to work at Nestle, they add their own strict regulations on top of what is lawfully required, all to make sure their production is as safe and efficient as possible. This is the reason why they recently installed a new mast-driven lift, courtesy of Marco, at the Zoegas coffee roastery in Helsingborg.
Safety and Quality First
The pleasant aroma of freshly roasted beans can be picked up miles from Zoegas main roastery in Helsingborg. If the aroma is the first thing you notice, the second will likely be the rigorous security and attention to detail surrounding the roastery. Like all the cars being parked with the site in their rear-view mirrors, should a swift evacuation be needed. And to enter the premises you need to pass several safety, security and hygiene protocols.
“Oh absolutely, people react to our procedures – We know that our bar is set very high,” says Marcus Stridhammar, Project Leader for the mast-driven lift project, and it is clear he has had this conversation before.
“We obviously have to follow laws and regulations but we also work with Nestle’s own set of rules and processes on top of that. The main drive behind each initiative is to improve conditions for workers, visitors, clients and at the same time make sure production flows efficiently. That philosophy naturally applies to our lifting solutions too,” Marcus adds.
MDL-I, mast-driven lift from VPG
Ice Blasting and Heavy-Duty Equipment
The roastery receives daily shipments of fresh coffee beans. After being roasted some of the beans are ground and then transported to silos for intermediate storage and degassing. As a result of the roasting and degassing the silos need to be cleaned regularly, as the process can create carbon monoxide and other chemicals that need to be kept in check.
“To maintain excellent hygiene standards and increase the lifespan of our facility the inside surfaces are cleaned with ice blasting. By cleaning the surfaces with water, or rather ice, we can keep dangerous cleaning substances out of the roastery and we can maintain our high standards in production. That said, the old method of transporting the cleaning equipment was time-consuming and relied on stacked pallets, which was less than ideal from a safety perspective. Therefore, we chose to install a mast-driven lift from VPG to solve this issue,” Marcus continues.
Custom Solutions for Custom Needs
According to Marcus it took quite a while to find a contractor that could meet the very demanding list of needs they had put together. Eventually he found Marco’s website and picked up the phone. It seemed like Marco had a base offer and custom solutions that could meet their list of needs.
“We decided on the MDL-I with a number of custom fits and solutions, we were ready to get to work. And now, it’s all in place. The solution is safe and efficient for everyone involved and we are more than happy with the lifting solution Marco provided,” Marcus concludes.
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