INCREASED PEA PRODUCTION, MINIMAL DOWNTIME: FPS IQF TUNNEL FREEZER

Specializing in sustainable pea production, Swedish enterprise Foodhills AB exports 90% of its products. By installing the FPS IQF tunnel freezer in its plant, Foodhills AB significantly improved its production capacity and efficiency. With the freezer’s SynchroSD™ Sequential Defrost and Clean-In-Place (CIP) systems, the company has been able to extend production runs without compromising hygiene.

Explore how FPS leveraged its IQF technology and hygienic design to address Foodhills AB’s issues and fulfill production requirements.

Challenges

Foodhills AB’s decision to install FPS’s IQF tunnel freezer stemmed from a critical production bottleneck. In 2018, just four months after gaining access to the site, the owners of Foodhills AB expressed their desire to start producing peas.

The company initially obtained a freezer from a different manufacturer to meet the demand, but soon encountered issues due to its lack of a sequential defrost feature. Over the course of three to four seasons, it became evident that this setup was inadequate. Production needed to be shut down every 12 hours so the freezer could undergo cleaning and defrosting, which resulted in a low average daily pea production of roughly 130 tonnes.

Solutions

The primary objective was to increase production while reducing the need for extensive cleaning. The FPS IQF tunnel freezer is equipped with a SynchroSD™ Defrost system, which utilizes hot gas for sequential defrosting during production, extending uptime and eliminating the previous need for defrost-related shutdowns. A recirculating CIP system with an optional pasteurization step maximizes the tunnel’s hygiene and reduces chemical, water, and energy consumption.

To achieve high yield and consistent quality, our IQF tunnel provides precise airflow control to maintain the same air temperature and velocity throughout production, even during sequential defrost. The peas are gently handled with minimal blow-off. A CMP Fluid Removal System has also been included to optimize freezer performance, maximize runtime, and enhance output quality. The utilization of our technologies has brought tremendous value to Foodhills AB.

Results