For more than 50 years, Zweifel Pomy-Chips, AG, (Spreitenbach, Switzerland) has been one of the largest snack food manufacturers in Europe. The company produces  about 5,000 tons of potato chips annually, and another 1,200 tons of snacks are produced from grain and corn.

Known for innovative chip flavors and recipes such as Nature, Paprika, Provençale, Curry and Mexican, Zweifel strives for quality coating and consistent delivery of the seasoning blend to the potato chip manufacturing process.  The problem was that existing equipment wasn’t delivering consistent quantities and perfectly repeatable blends to the coating process. This not only affected flavor but also wasted expensive ingredients when greater-than-needed amounts were delivered. Zweifel needed a better way to meter the ingredients to the coating process.

The processor looked at volumetric feeders and loss-in-weight (LIW) feeders. Volumetric feeders are relatively inexpensive, but are open-loop and don’t take into account fluctuations in material density. LIW feeders work on weight or mass and can be used in a closed-loop control system. Zweifel considered LIW feeders a good solution for controlling its ingredient flow, and it chose K-Tron LIW gravimetric screw feeders.
Continue Reading at Food Engineering Magazine.