Eskort , South Africa ’ s leading pork manufacturer , has expanded its Gauteng production capacity by 50 % with a factory extension incorporating a high-tech refrigeration system officially launched in mid-February .
PROJECT
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Eskort ' s pig meat processing plant upgrade drives efficiencies
By Eamonn Ryan with technical input from Stephen Frewen , refrigeration design engineer : AMC Engineers , Gert van Rooyen , lead applications engineer : HC Group , Robert Kershaw of Barpro , and Eskort .
Eskort , South Africa ’ s leading pork manufacturer , has expanded its Gauteng production capacity by 50 % with a factory extension incorporating a high-tech refrigeration system officially launched in mid-February .
The owners of the processing plant set their sights on having the most energy and operationally efficient plant possible for their expanded pork production . The need stemmed from a desire in increase capacity from the previous 6 000 pigs a week to 9 000 .
The 10 000m ² development in Heidelberg – the small town where the company has produced world-class pork products for 70 years – will allow Eskort to increase production to meet retail needs .
With the facility processing approximately 5.5 million kilogrammes of meat monthly , maintaining the cold chain integrity is paramount . The enlarged factory is equipped with the largest continuous box freezer in Africa , capable of freezing 120 000kg of products to -18 ° C every 24 hours . Boxes move on a conveyor belt through the freezing chamber where the air is kept at -31 ° C – a temperature that occurs naturally only in polar regions .
The chilled and frozen warehouses now have multi-level picking mezzanine floor systems , the first of their kind in the food industry in South Africa . These systems maximise vertical space by including mezzanine floors with mobile racking that create additional levels for storage and picking , and they allow Eskort to handle a high volume of orders quickly and efficiently .
AMC PROVIDES CUTTING-EDGE REFRIGERATION DESIGN IN A CHALLENGING OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT .
By Stephen Frewen , refrigeration design engineer : AMC Engineers
Refurbishment projects are inherently challenging , especially when integrating complex additional piping and mechanical systems into an existing , operational refrigeration system . In this case , the refrigeration system capacity was increased from 2850 kWR to 4600 kWR while ensuring minimal downtime for the client ’ s operations , a priority throughout the project . The project involved multiple complex plant shutdowns , which the refrigeration contractor , PHES , handled effectively , minimising impact on the client ’ s operations .
The necessity of maintaining uptime for the client ’ s existing operations influenced every aspect of the refrigeration design . This included compressor technology selection , evaporator positioning and specifications , pipe routing , condenser placement and selection , plant room layouts , and vessel design and sizing .
Key features of the refrigeration design that make it among the best in class refrigerated facilities in South Africa and the world include :
• Dedicated outdoor air handling unit ( DOAHU ): Served by the secondary glycol circuit , the DOAHU tempers fresh air entering the facility , ensuring adequate ventilation for workers and maintaining building health , while removing moisture from the incoming air stream to reduce condensation risk in critical processing areas .
• Mechanical dehumidification systems : Equipped with reheat , recovering heat from the refrigeration plant , these systems maintain adequate dew points in key processing areas , reducing surface condensation risk .
• Open flash economised screw compressors : Introduced on the low stage of the plant , allowing reuse of existing refrigeration infrastructure while enhancing energy efficiency . The three screw compressors include high-efficiency motors selected by AMC and variable speed drives , significantly improving part-load efficiencies , crucial for abattoir refrigeration design .
• Carcass chillers : Featuring floating suction control and fan speed control , these chillers allow the end user to set specific cooling regime recipes , achieving carcass chilling in line with time requirements while minimising moisture loss .
• Hot gas and off cycle defrost and freezer pods : All new evaporators were designed to utilise hot gas defrost or off cycle defrost to eliminate the need for electrical elements in defrosting , thereby conserving electrical energy . The large storage freezer features pods that house the evaporators , ensuring that the heat added during hot gas defrost to melt ice on the evaporator is kept out of the storage area . This increases energy efficiency and ensures that product temperatures remain unaffected .
To maintain temperatures post-freezing , frozen meat is immediately transferred to a temperature-controlled holding area .”
Supplied by Eskort Supplied by Eskort
Eskort factory staff .
ESKORT ’ S NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH
Arnold Prinsloo , Eskort chief executive officer for the past 17 years , says the core objective of the factory extension is to create efficiencies . “ A big part of this expansion includes the addition of carcass chillers as well as the installation of a huge box freezer to accommodate the influx of raw material ,” he says .
“ This addition doubles our chilled and frozen cold stores , resulting in efficient picking and staging areas and allowing us to eliminate outsourcing costs , and our deboning lines have increased in size to meet the ever-rising demand . We also have new dispatch areas and loading bays to maximise productivity .”
Eskort despatch docking bays .
The opening of the factory extension marks the next phase of growth for a company started in the small KwaZulu- Natal Midlands town of Estcourt in 1917 . Eskort ’ s farmers are shareholders in the company creating a closed system where shareholders , predominantly large-scale farmers , also serve as suppliers . Four farms contribute to the facility , located in the vicinity from Bela-Bela to Pretoria , and the pork is antibiotic-free thanks to a massive investment in biosecurity – backed by international and local certification . As a result , its premium export-quality products enjoy the trust of consumers throughout South Africa .
A variety of products are manufactured at the facility , including russians , Gold
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