CASE STUDIES IN INNOVATION: Drum Unloader Speeds Up Process for Baby Food Manufacturer

Dec. 12, 2012

A worldwide manufacturer of baby food products, located in central Mexico, needed to find a more efficient and cost-effective way to quickly unload drums of highly viscous apple paste. See why they chose the Graco Saniforce Drum Unloader to do the job.

Amy Richardson

In the October 2012 issue of Flow Control, 11 case studies/application stories featured the winners of our 2012 Innovation Awards program. Each winner has been featured on the FlowStream blog over the last several weeks. The following post is the final post in this case study series. It focuses on Graco’s SaniForce Drum Unloader.

Graco’s SaniForce Drum Unloader is a 2012 Flow Control Innovation Award Winner. (Photo Courtesy of Graco)

A worldwide manufacturer of baby food products, located in central Mexico, needed to find a more efficient and cost-effective way to quickly unload 55-gallon (208-liter) drums of highly viscous (225,000 cps) apple paste. The manufacturer’s process involved adding water to the apple paste to decrease the viscosity so the material could be unloaded out of the drum with a diaphragm pump technology. This method proved to be inefficient, labor-intensive and costly since when water is added to the material it typically needs to be removed at a later part in the process. The manufacturer searched for alternative technologies in the marketplace and discovered Graco’s SaniForce piston pump drum unloading systems.

The manufacturer tested the SaniForce 5-to-1 piston pump drum unloading system in their facility. The trial proved to be hugely successful; Graco’s SaniForce system unloaded the apple paste without having to dilute the product with water. In addition, after the evacuation was complete, less than 1 percent residual remained in the bottom of the drum. The manufacturer was so impressed with the performance of the equipment they purchased the unit immediately.

After installing the SaniForce drum unloader, the manufacturing facility discovered additional benefits. They found the drum unloader was extremely easy to clean, with its quick knock-down design, and easy to operate. As the baby food manufacturer’s business continues to grow, they will be adding additional drum unloading units and have stated they will only choose Graco SaniForce unloaders for their high-viscosity unloading.

Related Links: 
www.graco.com