With almost 100 years’ experience of working with the food industry, IPCO can supply everything from premium quality steel bake oven belts to high productivity cooling systems for confectionery and chocolate products.
The company also supports food processors through consultancy services to help deliver new levels of efficiency and reliability to production processes. IPCO has sales and service offices in more than 30 countries, with trained and equipped service teams on the ground and available to provide a quick response to any service or repair requirement.
Perforated steel conveyor belts
IPCO is the world’s largest supplier of carbon and stainless-steel belts to the bakery and confectionery industries, working with OEMs and end users alike. Steel belts are designed to provide years of reliable service and help businesses maximise both productivity and profitability. Key benefits of a steel conveyor belt include excellent thermal conductivity and outstanding durability; with good maintenance a working life of 20 years is not unusual. Being lighter than mesh belts, they are also a more sustainable choice, requiring up to 30% less energy to heat as they re-enter the baking chamber.
A high quality bake oven belt will have certain mechanical properties – flatness, straightness – ‘engineered in’ at the production stage to ensure that it runs through the oven as it should. Consistency of colour is important too; dark areas absorb heat while light, shiny areas reflect it, so uneven belt colour could result in an uneven bake. This also has to be engineered into the belt.
A flat, smooth surface ensures clean release at the end of the oven with minimal risk of damage to fragile products. And when cleaning is required, steel is easier to clean than other materials.
Cooling and forming systems
IPCO is also a major supplier of confectionery cooling equipment. Belt-based cooling operations make use of the exceptional heat transfer properties of the material to ensure quick and controlled solidification. In a typical system, the molten product is deposited onto a continuously running stainless steel belt and transported through the cooling tunnel. Cooling is carried out either by means of chilled air applied from above the product, chilled water sprayed onto the underside of the belt, or a combination of the two.
The inherent smoothness of the belt results in clean discharge of candy and other sticky products from a cooling line, leading to a better quality product and less waste. This ease of release means that delicate products can also be processed successfully.
This expertise has resulted in the development of a comprehensive range of chocolate forming/moulding equipment, with systems designed for the production of industrial ingredients – chips, chunks, drops and blocks – and decorative products such as shavings, rolls, pencils, blossoms and many more.
Coffee freezing systems
The production of instant coffee is another major applications for IPCO’s systems, with its freezing lines now being used by all of the world’s major producers.
After roasting, the coffee is milled and turned into a slurry, similar to soft ice. This is fed onto the steel belt and frozen by means of cold air blasted over the product at high velocity to guarantee rapid and uniform heat transfer. The combination of impingement technology and the excellent conductivity of the steel belt enables freezing times to be reduced by as much as 50% compared with conventional methods). Product quality is also enhanced, as the smooth, temperature-controlled freezing process ensures that the colour and flavour of the coffee is maintained.
Multi-stage dehydration
Another food process for which steel belts are ideally suited is the drying of fruit and vegetables. Based around perforated belts, these systems enable controlled dehydration by the flow of air through the product, resulting in reduced process times.
The use of modular, multi-stage drying units allows time/temperature curves to be optimised for products as diverse as potatoes, carrots, apples, orange peel, celery, garlic and tomatoes. Special systems for sensitive products have also been developed, enabling the drying of cut strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, mango and more.
Delivering an end product with a highly uniform moisture content, IPCO dehydration systems are capable of handling partially frozen products and can also be used as a pre-dryer for microwave plants.
