B ULK D ISTRIBUTOR
Depot Services
November/December 2018
Schwartauer Werke manufactures
products like jams and syrups
BTR wanted a multifunctional three bay cleaning
facility to be used for chemical and food cleaning
9
Ask the driver
T
Jam today, and tomorrow
N
etherlands-based Gröninger Cleaning Systems continues
to win orders from a wide range of bulk commodity
sectors.
In the food industry, Schwartauer Werke GmbH is a well-known
German manufacturer of fruit products like jams and cereal bars.
Since 1899 the company has operated different factories under its
name in its home town of Bad Schwartau, north of Lubeck. The
company is a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Hero, a large
multinational food company.
Schwartauer Werke supplies products in many different forms of
packaging; from glass jars to 1,000kg stainless steel food containers.
The growth of deliveries to the German food industry has developed
rapidly over recent years, especially products delivered in stainless
steel containers have emerged as an important component of the
company’s supply chain.
In order to comply with stringent food safety and quality standards
Schwartauer decided to invest in an in-house container cleaning and
sterilisation station. By insourcing these activities the company fully
controls the process and is best positioned to meet customer needs.
A number of equipment suppliers were consulted in the pre-
ordering phase. Since Gröninger had considerable experience in this
fi eld and came up with the best engineering solution, Schwartauer
Werke teamed up with Gröninger for the project.
Since the spring of this year the brand new, fully automated
cleaning booth for the food containers has been in operation. The
systems clean both the inside and outside of the containers using
high and low pressure pumps. An integrated data logging feature
allows Schwartauer to build up a cleaning and sterilisation history
per container operated in the supply chain.
Following the cleaning all food containers are sterilised and tested
in overpressure with nitrogen or sterilised air. This way all
Schwartauer customers can be assured of perfectly handled
containers with excellent product. As the food company says: “Echt
gut gemacht!” (Genuinely well made).
Cleaning runs in the family
In the summer of 2017, tank wash company BTR GmbH opened a
brand new tank cleaning facility at a strategic location near the A14
motorway.
BTR already operates a site in Ludwigsfelde and now has a fl agship
facility in Bernburg, located about half way between Leipzig and
Magdeburg. Father and son Toben are the proud owners and
managers of the site.
Based on over 25 years of market experience the Tobens set out
very specifi c design parameters for the tank cleaning facility. This led
L-r at BTR GmbH: Henk Klein, Manfred Toben, Matthias Toben, and Johan Giberius
to a multifunctional three bay cleaning facility to be used for
chemical and food cleaning. The system operates at 100 bar,
recovers heat from the waste water stream and has an ultra-modern
air purifi cation system.
Gröninger, as system integrator, was challenged to meet the latest
standards of steam boiler technology and ATEX requirements. The
Toben-Gröninger team proved to be very successful which led to the
completion of an effi cient, well organised facility that will meet the
tank cleaning needs in a rapidly growing region of Germany.
Drive through
In the tank container market, Gröninger has supplied a cleaning
system for Köppen GmbH which provides tank container services in
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Located in Duisburg, the most signifi cant intermodal hub along
the Rhine, Köppen offers logistical services for tank container
operations, including cleaning. Köppen operates a drive-through
bay that can handle four containers at the same time. To optimise
the utilisation of the bay, Wim Köppen challenged Gröninger to
design a system whereby the pumps could be combined to clean
tank trucks as well. This gives Köppen the fl exibility to clean tank
trucks and tank containers in the same time frame without
repositioning the rotor jets.
The cleaning can be controlled via modern Siemens touch panels
that allow the cleaners to clean tanks with automatic cleaning
programs. The program selection is based on the previous cargo.
Due to the new system, cleaning results have been improved
allowing Köppen to generate a higher throughput.
www.groninger.eu
he tank truck driver is often not the one who decides
where to clean. However their opinion and infl uence on
where to clean is often underestimated. If a cleaning station
desires to be valued for more than just for a low price, it might
be good to be aware of the driver’s opinion.
CleanSecure has therefore recently launched a Tanker Driver app in
which tanker drivers can give their feedback about cleaning stations
after they have done a cleaning at a station. These reviews help
cleaning stations to understand how their service is perceived by
users. This also helps planners and buyers in their decisions as to
selecting the best fi t for purpose cleaning station.
The app verifi es that the truck driver actually is at the cleaning
station before a review can be posted. Per recorded cleaning one
review can be fi led. The feedback is provided in a structured simple
way, to avoid emotional feedback.
This information is shared at aggregated level via the CleanSecure
cleaning station locator which can be found at the company’s
website.
For the drivers, the app is not only functional, it is also fun, the fi rm
says. By sharing their experiences, tank drivers can compete to
become ‘emperor’ of the tank driver community. There is also a
locator installed in the app so that the driver can navigate to tank
cleaning stations.
The app provides added value to cleaning stations by enabling them
to distinguish themselves on criteria other than low price. Price is not
even an evaluation criterion for the driver, so it is possible become
recognised for issues as safety and friendliness.
Drivers can also pre-register to release pressure on the reception
desk. It is also possible for the driver to register for the CleanSecure
barcode, which saves time on data entry.
Moreover, by pre-registering, the cleaning station’s question list is
loaded in the app which helps to avoid typing errors and also releases
pressure on reception. The questions are exchanged by EDI or in fi le
format mail.
“It is our passion to contribute to improvements in the tanker
cleaning industry,” said Wilko Scholtens, CleanSecure director. “We
do this by connecting tanker truck drivers, cleaning stations, cargo
owners and transport companies. Sharing experiences, fi nding the
right cleaning stations, process transparency and mutual
understanding are keywords. We believe that connection and
transparency will contribute to a better and saver industry. ”
The CleanSecure app is available on any mobile device in the Google
store or App store.
https://cleansecure.com
DID YOU SEE THIS?
In the previous edition of Bulk Distributor, we reported on
these and many more stories:
• VTG rejects unsolicited bid from Morgan Stanley
• Hoyer unveils pioneering digital solutions
• Elemica on optimising depot processes
• Newson Gale on static grounding for Type C FIBCs
To be sure to get your own copy of Bulk Distributor visit
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Parts & Service
www.groninger.eu
The Schwartauer team in front of the food container cleaning cabin
Overschieseweg 111
3044 EH Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Telephone +31 10 437 10 22