Automation solutions for the food industry
Traditional food production areas are generally characterised by mixing und dosing processes which are occasionally controlled manually or semi-automatically. The introduction of a centralised, higher-order automation solution means that support is required to achieve the greatest possible flexibility in connection with manual and semi-automatic production processes. This necessary requirement as well as quality assurance, materials management, traceability and interfaces to ERP systems must be an integral part of a cutting-edge process control system which controls and monitors food production areas.
Our control system Plant iT offers the required flexibility and integration while meeting the requirements of EU Regulation 178/2002. The modular process control system benefits from all the experience we have gained from more than 30 years in the food industry. We can therefore present our customers a control system which provides suitable functions - from operating data acquisition through process control technology and batch system to functions for complete, company-wide production management (MES - Manufacturing Execution System), as well as the integration of ERP, LIMS and maintenance systems.
Numerous companies, such as BASF, BK Guilini, Glockenbrot Bäckerei, Jowa, Kerry and Unilever, have relied on our process control system Plant iT for many years.
Contact & information
Your contact person:
Thomas Scheller
Sales Manager, ProLeiT Inc., USA
Phone: +1 224 880 6536
Leonard Mitranescu
Head of Sales, Food, ProLeiT GmbH, Germany
Phone: +49 162 2598142
Request the industry information pack:
Application areas in the food industry
We recognised the specific demands of the food industry 30 years ago when we started developing our process control system, and our control system Plant iT is, therefore, equipped with the appropriate functions. Besides expansions and the installation of new plants, our process control system Plant iT is particularly suitable for the migration of old systems, as it supports the programmable logic controls (PLCs) from various manufacturers. This a major benefit to both end customers and food industry machine and plant suppliers, since Plant iT provides them with a universal solution. This enhances knowledge transfer, resulting in shorter commissioning times. It also saves costs related to expansion, maintenance and plant training.
Seeing as Plant iT is a standardised control system with pre-configured automation classes, re-engineering and expansion are parameterised instead of programmed. Plant iT makes common individual programming tasks (coding for SCADA, PLCs, etc.) a thing of the past. Configured services can be simply duplicated, expanded and ported for other projects while remaining fully comprehensible for operators, food technologists and application developers.
Due to our close cooperation with highly esteemed universities in the fields of nutrition, food technology as well as machine and plant manufacturing, the latest trends and requirements of the food industry are incorporated into our process control system.
Plant iT is used around the world by manufacturers of the following food products:
- Meat products,
e.g. meat, cold meat and sausage production, snacks - Milk (find more information about the dairy industry here),
e.g. cheese, butter, margarine - Bakery products (find more information about the baking industry here)
e.g. bread, bread rolls, baguettes, pizzas - Oils and fats,
e.g. olive oil, ketchup, mayonnaise, salsa sauces - Confectionery,
e.g. chocolate, sweets - Fruit mixtures,
e.g. fruit syrup - Basic food substances,
e.g. additives, aromas - Feed and mixed feed,
e.g. pet food (dog food, cat food) and food for agricultural animals
Food technology with Plant iT
Plant iT is a modular process control system, consisting of several standardised basic systems and modules. Depending on the type and number of requirements which must be met within a sector, the basic systems are combined with various modules. This level of flexibility enables the implementation of a standardised control system which can be enhanced with industry-specific functions.
The following overview displays some of the standard functions of our process control system Plant iT, which satisfies typical food industry requirements:
- Batch systems to ISA S88 for batch and continuous processes
- Order and recipe management for fully automated production processes
- Process-oriented materials management for centralised planning, inspection and evaluation
- Batch traceability (pre and post-tracking) to EU Regulation 178/2002
- Electronic batch recording with batch-related messages and graphs
- Electronic signature and FDA-compliant reporting for adherence to international regulations
- Order dispatching with integration of LIMS and ERP systems
- Connection of existing weighing systems
- Energy data management for saving water, energy, CO2 and gas
- Line management system, according to the Weihenstephan Standards
- Production and operating data acquisition for filling and packaging plants
- Production and efficiency reports (DIN, OEE) for reporting purposes
- Automation of CIP plants
- MES functionalities for planning, guidance, analysis and evaluation of production processes