DirectDrive System Improves Quality and Eliminates Downtime for Leading Poultry Processor

Customer Objectives

Erpiliç, a leading poultry processor in Turkey, was looking to increase frozen poultry production due to growing demand in local and export markets. A preliminary study showed that the friction-driven spiral freezer used for fresh products was experiencing severe sticking issues. Chicken pieces would stick to the metal belt before being completely frozen and had to be released with a scraper. Intense scraping left markings on products, lowering their quality. Product remnants on the belt produced catchpoints that caused it to bend and break.

Excessive belt tension caused wear on sprockets and damage to the belt, resulting in 15 hours of additional maintenance and repairs per month. Unscheduled downtime led to lost production, bottlenecks on the freezing application, and high risk of order delays.

Intralox Execution

Erpiliç officials expressed the need for a better spiral freezing system with higher throughput during a conversation with their Intralox Account Management team. Intralox proposed a DirectDrive System (DDS) spiral with Series 2900 DirectDrive modular plastic belting. DDS technology engages the belt edge directly with the drum with significantly less tension, while the high release properties of plastic reduce product marking and product loss due to adhesion.

Results

Since its installation in September 2018, S2900 DirectDrive belting has generated zero downtime and zero maintenance, while increasing throughput from two to three tons per hour. Product release is no longer dependent on scraping and is effective without damaging the product or the belt.

The new solution allowed Erpiliç to save $69,000 per year in production loss due to unscheduled downtime and $14,000 per year in belt replacement and labor costs for maintenance.

“The DirectDrive System easily releases products at the end of the line without any damage,” says Güntaç Demir, Erpiliç Production Manager. “This is providing a remarkable added value to our product quality and allows us to fulfill our orders on time.”