Fulton has supplied a skid-mounted horizontal boiler solution to American Pan UK, a leading supplier of industrial bakeware and pan maintenance services to Europe’s bakery market.
Following a fault at a unit in American Pan’s original process line; solvent used for the cleaning process overheated and ignited, with the subsequent fire spreading throughout the facility. While initially devastating, it provided an opportunity for American Pan and RE Architects to completely re-think operations and re-design process lines.
Commenting, RE Architects’ Richard Every says: “Because the unit was devastated, we couldn’t have easily brought the processes back into line and, rather than wait and lose business from new and existing customers, we took the decision to reappoint an existing warehousing facility to a new process line. And, because this was a new line with new equipment, we were able to design an optimum layout with facilities and processes that would future-proof the company and enhance the cleaning process.”
Fulton’s skid-mounted heat transfer solution features a horizontal, gas-fired RBC1500 boiler with NU-WAY gas burner and fully-modulating burner controls to provide a steam output of 2,393kg/h and maximum working pressure of 10.34barg. The skid also features ancillaries including automatic boiler controls, blowdown vessel, condensate return and feed tank and water treatment including water softener, chemical dosage sets and sample cooler.
Commenting, RE Architect’s Richard Every says: “Fulton’s heat transfer solution was chosen for a number reasons, with one main factor being the monitoring of the system, which doesn’t require 24/7 supervision.” This means the boiler can, at weekends for example, be left un-attended but operational for periods of time. This is vital for American Pan’s processes as it can take a long time from a cold start to heat the solvent and fluids in the various cleaning tanks.”
Thanks to Fulton’s efficient system, American Pan has reduced the acidity content of its cleaning solution and increased the performance from the solvent. Pans now get a deeper clean, are treated faster and, when combined with the company’s proprietary coatings, don’t carbonise in the bakery as quickly.
Summarising, Richard says that while other options and suppliers were considered, Fulton proved competitive on price, their specification was clear from the outset and their knowledge and expertise from all involved was second-to-none. Fulton also provided on-site training, which included requirements for daily testing, boiler blowdown, etc., for several American Pan employees.
