Honeywell has secured a contract for two projects for Valio, a leading milk producer, at its whey powder plant in Lapinlahti, Finland. Valio anticipates the projects will collectively increase production efficiency and result in higher quality milk products for the company.
The first project involved the deployment of a new automation system, which began operation in February 2007. The automation system is boosting productivity, reducing emissions and making maintenance easier and more flexible at the plant. The second project, which started in August 2007 and is expected to be completed by December 2008, involves the engineering, installation and start-up of a new whey demineralisation process. Valio expects the process to result in higher quality and more uniform milk products, higher capacity and the ability to better respond to specific customer needs.
"The Honeywell system is boosting productivity, strengthening our compliance with environmental regulations and enabling us to more rapidly respond to market needs and changes," said Kari Lappi, plant director, Valio. "The fact that Honeywell is involved in the entire lifecycle of the project, from conception to implementation, frees us up to focus on our core business."
As the Integrated Main Automation Contractor, Honeywell provided Valio with pre-engineering consultancy and worked alongside Valio from the earliest stages of the project to customise the system and support a smooth implementation. Honeywell also provided field and electric engineering, instruments, automation and control design - including recipe management - installation and start-up. The Honeywell automation system has been integrated with Valio's other plant systems, and is running the whey powder production line, the whey powder drying tower and the dust cleaning process. The control and recipe handling solutions promote consistent product quality, while Honeywell's dust cleaning solution and other energy saving features help to reduce environmental emissions.
"This solution offers Valio a cost effective way to implement its entire automation project through one supplier, and it also promotes consistency throughout the plant which was one of the customer's requirements," said Timo Saarelainen, director, Honeywell Finland. "Consistency is important in a plant environment - it reduces complexity and can save vast amounts of time and money."
For more information contact Julie Ann Brown, Honeywell Southern Africa, +27 (0)11 695 8000, [email protected], www.honeywell.co.za
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