A better clean at major cheese manufacturer
Cheese manufacturer switches their tank cleaning method to Alfa Laval’s rotary impingement technology and experiences immediate results
At a plant that annually produces more cheese than any other manufacturer in the world, strict productivity and quality guidelines must be maintained. Headquartered in California, the company makes a variety of different types of cheeses, including Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby, Colby Jack, and more. The company is not only committed to making exceptional cheeses, but they are also committed to exceptional treatment of the environment, including the reduction of water usage.
Prior to using Alfa Laval Gamajet tank cleaning devices, the team was using static spray balls to clean their horizontal cheese vats. There are crevices and agitators inside the vats including knives and blades for cutting or stirring the cheese. The spray balls were not effectively cleaning the vats because they only provide a sheeting effect when they clean, with little to no impact. Therefore, the spray balls weren’t able to get into all of the crevices, so extraneous cheese and residue were left over after the cleaning. This was not an acceptable way to put a vat back into production. The people at the plant were also unhappy with the amount of water the spray ball was using, especially to only get the vats minimally clean.
The company purchased two of the Alfa Laval GJ A1 rotary impingement machines. As the first and only rotary impingement cleaner to meet the requirements for 3A approval, this device features variable flow rates and a consistent 360° spray pattern that ensures reliable, effective results. The self-cleaning, self-flushing machine is specifically designed for the sanitary industry, and it’s easy to assemble and disassemble for internal inspection. The cheese manufacturer runs the Alfa Laval GJ A1 at 160 PSI and gets approximately 50 – 55 pounds of impact to scour their vats clean.
Results
The team is so impressed with their Alfa Laval GJ A1 machines that they are in the process of purchasing more. After they run their rotary impingement devices, there is no cheese sticking to the hard to reach areas, and the danger of extraneous cheese getting into the next production run has been completely eliminated. Water usage during cleaning has also been drastically reduced, using 150 gallons less water per vat cleaning compared to the spray balls. The plant’s head of maintenance summed it up best, “We are extremely satisfied with our Gamajet. We are using less water to get our vats much cleaner, and quicker, too. Simply put, we just get a better clean with the Alfa Laval.”
