Known for its line of intermediate bulk containers (IBC) for mixing applications, Matcon is a valuable contributor to the food-processing and pharmaceutical industries – especially in Canada, where its products are available from Firing Industries. What makes Matcon’s processing solutions different is their flexibility: instead of static mixer solutions, this manufacturer offers container-based blending, which reduces the need for cleaning between recipe changes.
In a recent blog entry, Matcon explains how IBC blending revolutionizes the production process with improved speed, agility, and efficiency.
The tumble-blending approach to production
A multi-functional solution for many processing applications, one Matcon IBC significantly decreases cleaning downtime; no product comes into contact with the blender, so users need only to switch to a different IBC when changing to another recipe. This process can take as long as eight hours with the cleaning involved with traditional mixers. But with IBCs from Firing Industries, switching between containers leads to a continuous flow of various products.
IBCs can control and contain the discharge of any kind of powder with Matcon’s unparalleled Cone Valve technology. This eliminates all chance of cross-contamination between product batches, which decreases the risk of allergen contamination as well as cleaning downtime. Another key advantage of using Matcon’s bulk containers is that they save space. Unlike many tumble blenders, which take up a lot of workplace space to accommodate their rotating actions, the IBC method is very compact.
With cleaning downtime out of the way, one IBC blender can perform the function of several standard fixed mixers, processing three or four batches of product per hour. One IBC blender can accommodate many different sizes of Matcon bulk containers, adding to their efficiency and power. Users merely need to use various sizes of IBCs or fill vessels partway in order to create different batch sizes from one blender. With this system, companies can save serious costs, not only by buying the blender, but also through saving facility space and in far more efficient production.