Solution approach

To ensure that meat products remain fresh and can be kept for consumption, they are processed and packaged under specific conditions. Fine meat producer Terbeke Offerman from Borculo knows better than anyone what is involved.

Partnership

Terbeke Offerman is a producer and packager of processed meats for the Benelux, the United Kingdom and Germany with various production sites in Belgium and the Netherlands (Borculo). Besides processed meats, the company is market leader in fresh lasagne in many European countries. Terbeke Offerman also supplies poultry, quiches, cooked hams, pâtés and pizzas. The company has 100 employees. For process optimisation of one of the production lines, Terbeke Offerman used automation technology from JUMO.

Nicely packaged for home

Taking packaged meat products home from the supermarket has become the most normal thing in the world these days. Before the product hits the shelves, an entire process has already taken place. Always with the consumer in mind, to enjoy his/her favourite meat product at all times. With fresh meat products, for example, this already starts with the dish. Depending on the type of meat product, there is a choice of various sizes, colours, and whether or not there is an elevation in the dish that makes it easy to remove slices of meat. Just like the use of interleaving sheets and the way of placing the slices to make them easy to remove.

Project outcome

Autoclave for steam cooking

Terbeke Offerman currently uses 4 autoclaves for the preservation of canned meat products such as Frankfurter sausage. An autoclave is a kettle in which the tin with its contents is sterilised by means of pressure and steam (temperature). This means that not only the bacteria are killed, but also the spores that bacteria are producing. The autoclaves are controlled by JUMO. Terbeke Offerman asked JUMO to update these to PLC process control technology.

Process automation with JUMO mTRON T

In this application, the existing DICON 1001 program controllers from JUMO were replaced by JUMO mTRON T for four autoclaves. This automation system is equipped with PLC technology and contains a CPU, four controller modules, two analogue modules and a touch screen HMI. The CPU (central processing unit) contains the program function, the functional program (PLC) of the application at Terbeke Offerman and manages the process values of the entire system. Two of the four PID controllers are used in the controller module. The PID control ensures that the desired temperature and pressure in the autoclave are achieved and maintained very quickly and accurately for the duration of the steam cooking process. The HMI (human machine interface) of the JUMO mTRON T shows the independent program drivers for temperature and pressure measurement of the four autoclaves. As a SCADA system, SVS3000 is used as the interface for the visualization of the process control and the recording of the cooking batches.

Project result

For Terbeke Offerman, process optimisation with JUMO has resulted in a clear process display with program data and program curves. The program curves can also be started independently of each other on the HMI. All data, events and alarms are recorded in SVS3000.