High-capacity extruder responds to growth in cereals and snacks

25 Jul 2011

Cereal and snack manufacturers can benefit from the flexibility of twin-screw extrusion at higher throughputs, thanks to addition of the SBX Master to the range of extruders from Baker Perkins.

The nominal capacity of the SBX Master 125 is 2,300 kg/hour of direct expanded products, compared with the maximum in smaller models of 1,500 kg/hour.

Growing demand for extruded products was behind the decision to launch a bigger extruder, according to marketing manager Keith Graham. “A big advantage of the extrusion process is its flexibility - you can make a wide range of products on the same machine. That’s why a lot of snacks and cereals made by extruders were originally small-volume, niche products,” he told FoodProductionDaily.com.

“As the market for these products grows, manufacturers are looking to increase their production capacity while retaining that same flexibility.”

Flexible twin screw extruders are at the heart of the Baker Perkins Snack Master and Cereal Master flexible production lines. “A cereal manufacturer could be making cornflakes in the morning and chocolate-filled pillows in the afternoon,” says Graham. “Unless you have to reconfigure the screws, it’s not normally the extruder that’s the limiting factor in changeover times.”

Adapting to the market

The company’s modular approach to production lines also allows the product range from a standard line to be extended from direct-expanded snacks and cereals to higher added-value products as the market evolves.

In the snacks industry a modular Snack Master line designed initially to make corn curls, chipsticks or maize rings can be extended in stages to produce high-specification snacks including whole grain / multigrain products and sweet or savoury filled pillows.

Similarly, a Cereal Master line producing corn balls, multigrain rings, alphabet shapes or cocoa balls can be extended with additional units to make a range of high added-value flakes, multigrain flakes and filled pillows.

Greater throughput

The geometry of the unit’s high-free-volume agitator also contributes to high outputs, even with low-density materials such as bran and fine-milled flours.

A modular barrel enables the length of each machine to be matched precisely to each customer’s application, and means they can extend the extruder later as their production needs evolve.

The SBX Master is designed to be easy to use, clean and maintain, all of which contribute to a lower overall cost of ownership.

Source: Baker Perkins Ltd