Arla improve their energy efficiency with FlexFlow calorimetric flow sensor for dairy

Leading dairy cooperative, Arla Foods, have made the bold commitment to making all of their products CO2 neutral by the year 2050 and central to this has been improving the energy efficiency of their processes. Enter sensor and measurement device specialists, Baumer UK, with their Flexflow device. The perfect calorimetric flow sensor for dairy production.

When Arla Foods took a transparent approach over the energy they are consuming in the production of cottage cheese at their Falkenberg location in Denmark, it became clear that there were efficiency savings and, as a byproduct, cost savings that could be made during the process. In this article, Process Industry Forum learns more about why Baumer’s Flexflow is well suited as a calorimetric flow sensor for dairy production.

What Arla wanted to achieve?

Arla Foods hold a strong stake in the cottage market across Europe, with high demand coming from the Nordic countries Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, and also South Europe in Greece. With Arla committing to reducing the requirement for CO2 use within their processes, optimising their processes to become resource efficient was a must.

Production manager at Arla, Mattias Abrahams outlines this saying: “In recent years we have placed an increasingly strong focus on monitoring the energy consumption of our plants. In certain areas, however, we simply didn’t know where the energy was being used.” Cue, Swiss-based sensor experts Baumer and their ideal calorimetric flow sensor for dairy production, Flexflow.

How Flexflow provided the solution

In this instance, Flexflow truly was the best calorimetric flow sensor for dairy production. The Flexflow calorimetric flow sensor’s simplicity to install is down to its symmetrical and centred design and the fact it has just one element ahead of the sensor tip. This enables the sensor to be installed in the process regardless of the position of the installation or the orientation. Its robust stainless steel housing accommodates all the electronics, eliminating the need for wiring or a control cabinet installation also.

The Flexflow meets the IP68 protection class requirements, making it ideal for use within applications where hygiene is paramount. It also has an extremely high temperature range, making it ideal for use in Sterilisation in Process (SIP) tasks.

Arla installed the Flexflow calorimetric flow sensor in the cooling and heating system, using the measurements to obtain a clear picture of their energy consumption and enabling them to introduce robust actions to reduce their overall energy consumption and fulfil Arla’s commitment to sustainability. This is something that is extremely important to them as leaders within the dairy industry.

What Alra said about FlexFlow

Since being introduced to Baumer’s FlexFlow, Arla has installed up to 15 of these calorimetric flow sensors in the cooling circuit and heating systems, with plans to integrate the sensors CIP return link to monitor energy consumption in that process as well.

Speaking about the assistance received from Baumer, Mattias Abrahamsson said: “This has proven to be a cost efficient solution. And because the sensors installed so far are reliably returning the results we need, we will now install more and more of them.”

Baumer Product Manager for Process Sensors, Martin Leupold, is also happy with the results. He said: “This solution is allowing Arla, our long-term partner, to systematically optimise its energy consumption, save resources and deliver on its sustainability promises. We, at Baumer, are working on these very solutions.”

You can learn more by watching the video below.

For more about Baumer’s Flexflow and saving resources in the food and beverage industry, contact Baumer UK today.