GEA will make its first debut at ProPak Asia in Bangkok in June 2019. The company will demonstrate its market-leading technology for the food ingredients, beverage, bakery, meat, poultry and ready-to-eat meals sectors and introduce its CALLIFREEZE® system for the GEA S-Tec spiral freezer to the Asian market. From June 12-15, the ProPak Asia booth (Hall103/BS41) will showcase a range of bakery products and freeze-dried samples, all produced on GEA equipment.
More about CALLIFREEZE®
CALLIFREEZE® is the world’s first system to autonomously monitor and control product quality at the freezer exit. It has been proven to allow frozen food processors to confidently increase evaporation temperatures, reduce energy consumption, achieve accurate product quality control and avoid product wastage associated with many batch operations. In addition to saving money, CALLIFREEZE® helps GEA customers meet their Industry 4.0 strategy requirements as well as their sustainability targets. In March 2019 CALLIFREEZE® won an innovation award at CFIA (Carrefour des Fournisseurs de l’industrie Agroalimentaire), the trade fair for the food packaging and processing industry, in Rennes, France.
The CALLIFREEZE® control system automatically adjusts the retention time, air temperature and fan speed of the freezer to achieve the precise level of freezing required, with minimum energy consumption. Customers can choose whether to reduce retention time, and so increase production; or maintain retention time and reduce energy usage. In some applications, an 80 percent LOF at freezer discharge is acceptable because the product is “finished off’ in the cold store – which can be controlled accurately with CALLIFREEZE®. The system is suitable for use with a wide range of food products including meat, vegetables, poultry, fish, ready-to-eat meals, bakery and dairy products.
The GEA S-Tec spiral freezer
Even before the introduction of CALLIFREEZE®, the S-Tec spiral freezer was already a market leader when it comes to hygienic design and operating efficiency and with unique features that set it apart from its nearest competition. These features include: pure horizontal airflow that reduces product dehydration, significantly improves yield and keeps power usage to a minimum; a fully-welded construction within the product-contact area that eliminates dirt traps and creates a perfect surface for cleaning; a fully-welded, elevated modular floor that does not require floor heating and is easy to clean; a selection of infeed/outfeed options; a range of clean-in-place (CIP) options including the ultimate 6-Zone Recirculating CIP that captures and recycles water and cleaning agents after filtration, heating and chemical dosing; a choice of enclosure and floor types; and up to 14 days of continuous production.
Combined, these unique features deliver high efficiency and product quality while minimizing energy and maintenance costs for the lowest possible total cost of ownership.
European engineered freezing technology now available for Asian customers
The GEA S-Tec spiral freezer, developed and proven in Europe, is now available for customers in Asia. To meet customer needs, many of the machine components are now manufactured in Asia. GEA is also providing complete project execution and after-sales service through its food application centers in China and Singapore to ensure customers benefit from its experience and expertise from the start and throughout the service life of the equipment.