Poultry Processor Delivers World-class Food Safety with the Help of Intralox's Service, Design, and Technology
While enabling us to supply hygienic and high-quality products to our customers, Intralox’s solutions have also helped us achieve reduction in water consumption, time, and labor for key parts of the process while helping to enhance the hygiene of our facility.
V Ilayaraja
Shanthi Feeds General Manager – Chicken Processing Division
Customer Objectives
When preparing to double their Coimbatore, India, production capacity from 6,000 to 12,000 birds per hour, poultry processor Shanthi Feeds knew they wanted their new conveyance solution to represent world-class standards, processes, and equipment. In particular, Shanthi wanted conveyance that would ensure safe and efficient product handling. Shanthi faced several challenges with their existing conveyance solutions—including difficulty accessing equipment for cleaning, foreign material contamination, and sprocket slippage—all of which resulted in extensive cleaning time, water consumption, and maintenance costs. Optimizing both conveyor design and belt technology would be critical for avoiding these issues in Shanthi’s plant expansion.
Intralox Execution
Intralox leveraged their deep experience in the poultry industry and world-class technology, service, and support to help Shanthi design and implement a best-in-class conveyance solution for their new plant. Commercial Food Sanitation (CFS), an Intralox company, provided upfront consulting services to guide both conveyor design and material selection for optimal hygiene and maximum cleanability. CFS also consulted on the inter-building transfer tunnel, ceiling, and drainage design to prevent moisture accumulation and product contamination, and helped Shanthi establish clear equipment cleaning guidelines.
Intralox partnered closely with Shanthi’s OEM to build conveyors. Intralox inspected and signed off on the conveyors post-construction and at the Factory Acceptance Test. More than 50 conveyors were built and delivered to the Coimbatore plant, totaling over 400 m in length. In addition to modular plastic belting, Intralox ThermoDrive technology—which includes flat, homogeneous, thermoplastic belting that is significantly easier to clean—helped Shanthi achieve their food safety goals in sanitation-sensitive applications. A creative “doubledecker” belt configuration for product trim takeaway eliminated the need for plastic crates and manual labor to move them around the plant, further minimizing contamination risks.
Results
With the support of Intralox and CFS, Shanthi’s new, world-class facility was operational by March 2021, with top performance exceeding Shanthi’s expectations. Using Intralox belting, Shanthi has significantly reduced time spent on belt and conveyor maintenance and sanitation. The easier cleaning facilitated by improved belt access and Intralox’s ThermoDrive technology has cut the amount of water needed to clean the conveyor in half.
