Page 3 - Food&BeverageBrochure2013_LR.pdf

Challenge and commitment.
Today’s food and beverage producers must
remain competitive and profitable while facing:
r Higher energy, raw material and feed costs
r Increased food safety and other legislation
implemented by regulatory bodies such as
the FDA, USDA, EPA and OSHA
r New foreign competition — some from third-world
countries lacking strict food safety regulations —
entering the US market and placing pressure on
operating margins
As new food and beverage processing equipment
with complex and sensitive electrical systems, controls
and automation continues to replace older generation
equipment, MRO expenses are rising with increasing
maintenance time, technical support and power costs.
Food and beverage processing plants require a high
sustainability level from their electrical systems,
because shutdowns can cost from minutes’ to days’
worth of production if a batch must be scrapped.
Plant capital expenditures are also increasing due to
existing capacity constraints. They’re being justified with
process and packaging improvements using sanitary
plant designs that reduce product contamination and
facility cleaning times, while increasing operational
equipment effectiveness (OEE), revenues and plant
sustainability. To increase productivity and food
safety, processing equipment must be designed with
geometries that quickly shed contaminants and allow
easy cleaning, often in harsh processing environments.
Food and beverage facility cleaning and sanitation
crews often use high-pressure hosedown cleaning
equipment with high-temperature caustic chemical
solutions that shorten the life of the facility and
equipment. This is being offset by the use of corrosion-
resistant materials such as stainless steel, aluminum,
specialty alloys, high-tech non-metallics and coated
materials. Food and beverage plants often have extreme
temperature ranges due to processing requirements.
Thermal cycling issues from ovens directly in line
with flash freezers can cause reliability issues in
processing areas.
Shortened product-development cycles, smaller batch
sizes, fast expiration dates and more frequent product-
type changeovers require adding new automation
technologies for better processing flexibility, keeping
production costs down and getting products to
customers quickly. With nearly 90% of food and
beverage plants having fewer than 100 employees
and many having been small, family-run businesses
acquired by larger companies, the need for electrical
system standardization has become more critical.
Thomas & Betts provides food and beverage
electrical system solutions that:
r Increase your overall equipment effectiveness
r Extend the life of your electrical system
by up to 300%
r Decrease electrical system changeover
and downtimes by 40–50%
r Increase food safety, reduce product contamination
and provide a safe workplace for your employees
These solutions enable food and beverage processors
to increase revenue, plant sustainability, food safety
and brand equity.
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Processing Packaging Distribution Consumption Recycling Production
Food Supply Chain