Success Story
A Reliable Baking Process Using
New Automatic Weighing and Recipe
Management System
The use of a new recipe management system from a single
source and the addition of hopper scales for batching extend
process control functions and reduce production downtimes
in a large bakery.
Abstract
Albany Bakery, a large consumer goods
company in South Africa, requested an
upgrade of its process automation
equipment for its baking operations in
Germiston, South Africa. In the dispensing
and dough-mixing area, additional
Sartorius weighing hoppers – hopper
scales – were installed, and a new Sartorius
recipe management and control system
was set up. Besides PR6246 tension load
cells, ProBatch+ recipe management software linked to Combics Pro controllers was
installed. This solution ensures added process reliability and ease of operation.
Remote diagnostics and support are provided via an Internet connection.
Customer Requirements
The Germiston bakery manufactures sliced
bread on three fully automatic production
lines (two lines producing 6,000 loaves per
hour and one 5,000 loaves per hour).
Currently, raw materials, such as flour,
water, ice cubes and yeast, from seven bulk
flour storage silos and one on-site cream
yeast plant are fed into the production
lines. These ingredients are weighed in
according to the recipes using 13 hopper
scales total, and the typical batch size is
330 kg. From there, five dough mixers are
fed. All of these dough-mixing stations
are controlled by batch controllers linked
to programmable logic control units (PLCs).
The batch controllers evaluate the
About the Customer
Albany Bakery is a branch of the
Tiger Brands Group, which is a
fast-moving consumer goods giant
in the South African market.
weighing signals transmitted by the
hoppers and execute the recipes. Physical
control of the valves and pumps in the
process is handled by the PLCs.
The batch management system already
available at the bakery plant needed
a hardware upgrade to ensure reliable
dough-mixing process operations.
Moreover, additional bulk raw materials
(ice cubes and cream yeast), which had
been added manually until now were to
be included in the automatic batching
process. This required an extension of the
process weighing equipment and software
facilities. For Albany Bakery, ease of
operation and after-sales support for this
installation were essential requirements.
Solution
To implement the new concept, most of the
obsolete control equipment was removed
and replaced by PCs, PLCs and weighing
controllers. A combined solution of five
PLCs and three Probatch+ recipe management systems networked to eight Combics
Pro series controllers was chosen for control of raw material storage, feeding and
mixing. For weighing, the existing 13 hopper scales already equipped with PR6246
tension load cells were integrated into the
new process environment. This solution
features a modular design that is easy to
tailor to meet the customer’s specific
requirements.
The Germiston bakery plant receives its essential
bread ingredients by truck.
Headquartered in Germiston, South
Africa, the company was founded
in 1983 and today is considered the
largest bakery in the Group.
This bakery produces an extensive
range of high-quality bread products,
which have gained a strong brand
presence and customer loyalty through
the company’s use of innovative products and manufacturing technologies.
The customer’s operators appreciate the user-friendly
display of the Combics Pro.
Plant 1 and plant 2 with their weighing hoppers
­connected to the storage silos
performance ever since. These PR6246 tenThe Combics Pro controllers transmit
sion load cells provide excellent resolution
weighing signals to the PLCs and execute
and accuracy in a process environment.
sequential recipe lines sent by the ProAs a result of their special S-shaped design,
batch+ software system. The equipment
they feature high signal sensitivity and
selected included Sartorius weighing contherefore accurately respond to slight load
trollers as field control terminals because
changes. Thus, these load cells were
they are capable of monitoring two real
retained along with the available hopper
weighing points, plus flow meters for disscales, and five additional automatic scales
pensing yeast. These flow meters were
with new load cells were installed and contaken over from the old control equipment
nected to the new Combics Pro controllers.
setup and are now connected to the PLCs
so that yeast dispensing
The most important
is included in the autoThe new process management
­benefit for the customer
matic batching process.
system is an outstanding
is increased process
achievement! Our colleagues
­reliability provided by
Control and interlockcan now manage and control
the upgraded recipe
ing of the field devices
all batching processes using
­management system.
are executed by the
one recipe software program
This new installation
PLCs, which communiin the control room.”
­provides Albany Bakery
cate with the Combics
with a state-of-the-art,
Pro controllers via a
Pieter Broodryk – National
­fit-for-purpose batching
Profibus network. The
Engineering Manager
solution designed to
Probatch+ software was
­provide years of reliable
selected based on its
service. In addition, this new technology
design and capacity to manage several
production lines for this large bakery plant. solution enables ­convenient remote
­technical support via an Internet connecThe software is ideal for editing recipes
tion. Beyond these advantages, the new
and production plans and for running
equipment solution integrates all bulk raw
­production operations from personal
materials into one control and reporting
­computers linked to the plant ­network.
environment, which was not possible
before with the ­former equipment.
The production systems are operated using
touch-screen monitors that are each
Moreover, Sartorius was able to offer
mounted locally per mixer station. On the
exceptionally fast installation schedules
local monitor, the operator just enters
where only one bread production line had
­commands he or she is authorized to use,
to be shut down during installation and
such as component set points and batch
sequence requirements. Production can also commissioning of the new equipment.
In the interim, both old and new systems
be started or stopped from the touchremained up and running.
screen terminals. Plant managers have
access to other control functions only from
the Pro Batch+ or Combics Pro terminals.
Redundancy is designed into the automation solution so that production for a given
bakery plant can be moved from each
­Probatch+ installation to another in the
event of a computer failure.
“
The Sartorius load cells for batching had
already been in service for nearly 20 years
on the flour and water hopper scales and
still have been delivering the same high
Sartorius AG
Weender Landstrasse 94-108
37075 Goettingen, Germany
Phone +49.551.308.0
Fax +49.551.308.3289
www.sartorius-mechatronics.com