Kolak choses ZT for high quality oil-free air
VSD Variable Speed Drive Oil-free compressors Food & Beverage Class 0 Compressor Technique Compressor Technique
Kolak Snack Foods Ltd is a leading UK manufacturer of crisps and snacks, producing its own brands such as Dylans Hand Cooked Crisps, and private label products supplied to independent retailers and major high street supermarket chains.
When it experienced a business upturn and required increased output at its manufacturing plant in London, it decided to upgrade its production equipment, including its compressors. When considering the options, the company knew it had to ensure reliability and continuity of output, but also needed to ensure that any possible risk of product contamination during process operations was eliminated. It had to be efficient, reliable and entirely oil-free.
Energy efficiency of ZT was essential in the selection
To achieve this, Kolak chose to replace its existing units with oil-free, rotary screw, full feature machines – two ZT 90 FF compressors and a ZT 90 VSD FF – which provide a guaranteed supply of high-quality air. As a result of the installation, the process air at Kolak’s London plant complies with the ISO 8573-1 (2010) CLASS 0 standard of air purity, which embraces the Class 0 industry standard. Class 0 measures all three forms of oil contamination: aerosol, vapour and liquid.
The 24/7 working shift pattern at Kolak’s London plant, which is in place to meet production demand, meant that energy efficiency was also an essential consideration in the selection of new compressors.
The Atlas Copco VSD compressor works in tandem with the base load compressors to cover all the main 7bar plant air application duties, including heat exchanger, steam boiler and packing operations. This ensures that output is matched to demand in the most energy-efficient way, with the VSD compressor taking over any additional site load.
Investing into a future-proof solution with a full-feature compressor
Each of the three new compressors is a full feature, total installation concept – a pre-wired and pre-piped solution, ready for use ‘out of the box’. Integrating the compressor’s IMD dryer and its variable-speed drive enables the compact package to supply high-quality dry compressed air at the lowest cost.
The IMD adsorption dryer eliminates the moisture before it enters the air net to ensure a reliable process and a contamination-free end product. No external energy is needed to dry the air and as the dryer needs no purge air, no compressed air is wasted. The pressure drop through the dryer is minimal, which again cuts down its operating cost. The overall effect is to generate substantial savings in comparison to conventional types of dryer operation.
To ensure that its compressed air installation was fully protected and operating at optimum performance, Kolak Snack Foods also entered a 10-year Total Care agreement for compressor system maintenance and servicing with Atlas Copco who undertake responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the installation’s performance. As Rikin observes:
“We invested in the best possible service package in order to make us future-proof.”