A new ‘green’ range of commercial freeze dryers aimed at the dairy industry launched by leading New Zealand manufacturer Cuddon Freeze Dry. The NZ based business will be showcasing at foodpro.
The innovative GPC range of conductive batch freeze dryers include the FD100GPC small commercial model, also suitable for R&D and pilot scale work, the FD600GPC and FD1200GPC, and its largest industrial model, the FD1800GPC.
The model number denotes the amount of moisture (in kg) the ice trap can capture within 24hrs.
Cuddon sales and marketing manager Blair Kibblewhite said the design is centred around the use of liquid filled heat plates delivering less than one kelvin variation across all contact surfaces in the dryers.
“This means Cuddon freeze dryers can deal with heat sensitive products better than other types of freeze drying and are the preferred choice in the dairy industry globally to dry whey protein extract products such as Lactoferrin, where retention of bioactivity is key,” Kibblewhite said.
Using CO2 as the freeze dryer refrigerant to replace traditional high Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants is a significant milestone, reducing the environmental impact by more than four thousand times by the use of this natural gas.
Compliant with the Paris Agreement, this change is future proofing the plant as well as significantly reducing running costs. Designed and built in New Zealand, Cuddon set out to produce its newest freeze dryers with the smallest environmental footprint possible, along with increased product capacity and throughput, without any compromise to performance.
Combined with design improvements to the product chamber and state of the art robotic manufacturing processes, Kibblewhite said build times have reduced whilst product capacity has increased by nearly 30 per cent by the addition of more shelves with the ice coil geometry redesigned to match.
Multiple energy saving initiatives including heat recovery and recycling, and an upgraded smart control system, means a significant drop in the power consumption of the normally power-hungry drying process.
“So, more product can be freeze dried, in a shorter cycle time, with lower operational energy and refrigerant costs.
“It’s a win-win commercially for our clients who recognise that time and factory space are expensive and must be optimised, with the added bonus of the environmental credentials,” said Kibblewhite.
Kibblewhite said foodpro was a valuable opportunity to meet with new and existing clients.
“We hope stand visitors will be impressed with our new 3D printed model freeze dryers, debuting at the show.
“Australia is an important market for us and freeze drying is growing across multiple market sectors as more companies see the value and advantage of this unique drying solution. Our dryers are used in the preservation of a huge range of products - as long as the product has moisture in it and can be frozen solid, our freeze dryers will be able to dry it,” said Kibblewhite.
Freeze drying is especially effective in retaining the nutrients and enzymes, bioactivity, smell, taste and flavour of the product. One of our biggest sectors over recent years is pet food treats, with a new sector in cannabis emerging in North America.
The dryers can also be used for general foods, nutraceuticals, powders, liquids and even disaster recovery (paper and books).
“Use is limited solely by our client’s imagination,” said Kibblewhite.
Now in its 86th year of operation, Cuddon has more than 450 freeze dryers operating globally and strives to make continuous improvements through the embracing of new technologies, fabrication methods and smart design to deliver truly exceptional performance and value for money for their clients.
Cuddon Freeze Dry will be exhibiting at foodpro at stand N52.
