The fluid processing system can homogenise, mix, heat and pump simultaneously with a number of installations in the UK, including Shepherd Neame for the treatment of wort in the brewing industry and AAK Foods.
The company is currently commissioning a system at Larco Foods, in Holland, making soup broth.
“The PDX reactor uses supersonic steam to heat, mix and entrain liquid ingredients at the same time. It’s very effective with large reductions in processing times, e.g. 1000 kg of tomato sauce can be produced in six minutes rather than the traditional 60 minutes,” said Jake Norman, strategy & marketing development, Olympus Automation.
He added there was potential to create healthy food due to the way the PDX reactor works and the company was in talks with top chefs exploring these possibilities.
Faster food processing
“There are the obvious economic benefits of the PDX reactor because it makes food processing so much faster and more energy efficient but there are some great social benefits as well,” said Norman.
“The advanced mixing processes mean less ingredients need to be used, this brings cost advantages but also large social benefits as the amount of salt in recipes can be reduced by 10%. In an era where heart disease is becoming highly prevalent due to diet and lifestyle, these reductions of salt in ready meals and alike offer positive social change.”
Olympus Automation acquired the FBB division of Pursuit Dynamics (PDX) for £160,000 in May this year. The firm had been in trouble for some months and in February took the decision to sack some of its staff to cut costs.
The FBB division recorded a turnover of around £430,000 in the year to 30 September 2012, but its pre-tax losses came in at £1.3 million. Its gross attributable assets are worth around £58,000.
PDX 3D scan
“Moving forward we want to continue building strong relationships with our customers with our offerings and bring these values of reliability and innovation through to the PDX products division,” said Norman.
The next step for the company is the launch of its PDX 3D scan of food facilities, which can scan and deliver a complete 3D ‘walk through’ model of a factory with full point measurement to an accuracy of 2mm through its mobile software
“In an ideal world every factory would have accurate, fully dimensional 2D/3D drawings of every part of the facility, so that plant modifications can be assessed. In reality, the first steps in plant remodelling to meet demands for new products is often time consuming,” said Norman.