Willis Europlant, a supplier of bottling and packaging equipment to the food and drink, pharmaceutical and dairy industries, has specified Netzsch SHF hygienic pumps for its range of carbonating and premix machines. The carbonating and premix machines, which have outputs ranging from 1000 to 30,000 litre/h, are designed to put the fizz into a variety of carbonated products for famous brand soft drinks and “alcopops”, by providing a high-quality carbonating source for the initially uncarbonated product. Explaining the choice of pump, a Willis Europlant engineer says the SHF produces the pressure required for the process in conjunction with CO2 pressure and temperature monitoring systems. This ensures CO2 stability in the product and high carbonation saturation at lower final pressures, which cures many filling problems encountered with some products. Netzsch was also chosen for the quality and technical benefits of their pumps and because of its global presence. Each carbonator is fitted with a single SHF which, unlike a conventional hygienic pump fitted with con rods connected with pin joints, is fitted with a titanium flexible shaft to ensure there is no possibility of product contamination from lubricants or material. The use of titanium in the manufacture of flexible shafts also offers greater flexibility. While a standard stainless steel shaft will do the same job as a titanium shaft, the overall pump length is greater due to its lack of flexibility. A Willis spokesman says one of the carbonators has been installed by Caledonian Bottlers, which was so impressed by the carbonation stability, savings on product loss and running costs that it ordered two additional machines within a very short time.
