HACO AG is a leading Swiss food company with over 800 employees worldwide. The company operates a dry mixing plant at its Gümligen location for soups and sauces. The system is programmed with 300 recipes and can mix about 20 tons of ingredients daily. Bouygues E&S Process Automation Ltd. installed new software for the control and instrumentation technology of the system.
The customers are well-known wholesalers such as Migros, major consumers and industrial customers. HACO relies on automation during the manufacture of its approximately 1000 products to ensure consistently high product quality at all times. HACO decided to replace the existing control and instrumentation technology of this dry mixing plant. The order went to Bouygues E&S Process Automation Ltd. in Strengelbach. André Hunziker, head of the “Dosing/Mixing” team was responsible for this. The job was a hard nut to crack, since it was necessary to control over 100 elements of the mixing system,such as motors and valves as well as 14 scales, with new software. Together with his team, André Hunziker mastered this important job in just ten months.
The task involved replacing an old Siemens S5 controller with a new S7 controller in order to achieve a striking increase in production. The first phase involved replacing the existing process control system. iQOS, the Bouygues standard solution for dosing / mixing, adjusted to the demands of HACO, was used.
Every project begins with analysis. At HACO, there are about ten set-up stations. The system prints a set-up list for every order and then weighs the ingredients in advance, which are then added manually. The spectrum of quantities required ranges from 20 g to 30 or 40 kg. The control system indicates what premixtures the finished mixture is to be composed of. Once these premixtures have been identified and scanned, the system continues. This process can involve several stages.
Thanks to the professional planning and meticulous acquisition of knowledge regarding the individual processes, the schedule for the new system was adhered to almost exactly to the day. “Despite the great complexity, all processes occurred from A to Z perfectly”, noted André Hunziker with great satisfaction. The objective regarding the desired production increase of about 30 percent was also achieved.
Michael Joss, production manager at HACO, is satisfied with the system. The system runs flawlessly. “And if there is ever any problem, a Bouygues E&S specialist is there immediately.” Stefan Gertsch, project manager at HACO, emphasised the thorough preparation, introduction and training: “This was the basis for smooth commissioning of the system and trouble-free operation to this day.”
