Nestlé Suisse S.A. Basel, Basel

An existing batch mixer system, which can be used to manufacture all products produced at the factory, has undergone an automation retrofit. The project involved replacing the local control cabinets and developing new software, including visualisation. The control functions were designed in such a way that any possible sequence of operations can be configured individually. The recipe sequences were implemented using AVEVA’s Recipe Manager.

The existing NM continuous plant for the production of mayonnaise underwent an automation retrofit, as the existing components were obsolete and no longer available. The project involved replacing the control cabinets and developing new software, including visualisation. In addition to increasing capacity, a special control system was implemented which uses energy density to regulate the frequency of the colloid mills in order to achieve the desired viscosity in the end product.

As part of this project, a central control and monitoring station for the energy supply was set up. For this purpose, data and status information from energy systems such as heat pumps, steam generation, compressed air and refrigeration systems were consolidated in a modern OMI application from AVEVA via a Modbus connection. A higher-level control system was installed for time control and alarms, which records and processes alarms from throughout the building and forwards them to an alarm system.

Various Thomy products are filled in 5kg-10kg buckets for the catering industry in Basel. Since the entire plant was to be relocated to another place, various obsolete components also had to be replaced. Finally, in addition to a lot of hardware, the entire software was also renewed. Despite poor documentation, the replacement was successfully completed in the end.

The existing Cleaning in Place (CIP) system underwent a hardware retrofit. The control software was also updated and the visualization modernized. As many systems are connected to the CIP station, a special ordering process was implemented that significantly increases the availability of cleaning media. This has reduced the waiting times for cleaning the production systems.

The old mustard conveyor is reaching its capacity limit and has been replaced by a new one. The new plant was implemented on the current state of the art. In cooperation with Buerki Electric, we were also able to supply the corresponding electrical cabinets. The program functions were newly developed and implemented with the new toolbox version.

The special mustard plant runs with a Rockwell type PLC-5 controller and had reached its service life after more than 20 years. The associated visualization had still been created with the outdated PanelBuilder software. The old control system was replaced with a current control system. All control cabinets and peripheral modules were renewed to meet today's safety standards. The program modules and functions were adapted and implemented with the new Toolbox version.

SAB carried out a retrofit of the control system on an existing Schubert tube packaging line. As part of this project, we developed the associated visualisation system for monitoring and controlling the packaging line. This required the development of specific templates for communication with the LMC Pro controller in use. Wonderware’s Recipe Manager Plus was used for recipe management.

The existing DISHO (dissolving and homogenisation) plant underwent an automation retrofit. All control cabinets were replaced, the old S5 control system from Siemens was replaced by a CompactLogix from Rockwell, and a modern visualisation system was developed in AVEVA Wonderware. A specially developed recipe management system continues to ensure an individual sequence of ingredient dosing in order to meet individual recipe requirements.

The existing mustard mill for grinding crushed brown mustard and flaked yellow mustard was replaced by a new roller mill from Bühler. For this new grinding process, we were responsible for the entire electrical engineering and control software based on Bühler's functional description, including integration of the system into the mustard conveyor line. The HMI application for monitoring and operating the roller mill was implemented in a modern visualisation system from AVEVA Wonderware.

A new batch mixer was installed at the customer's for the production of salad dressing premixes. The functionalities were transferred to an FDS according to the specifications. After the reivew of the FDS with the customer and mixer supplier, the programming of PLC and HMI was implemented. The electrical cabinets were implemented by a subcontractor. Commissioning and process optimisation were carried out in close cooperation with the customer.

Network integration of measuring points and continuous data recording and archiving of energy data

With this project, the aging automation hardware and software was replaced. The modules and functions were implemented in the latest BAF (Basic Automation Framework) generation from Nestlé. The visualization was integrated into the new system platform. This also included the integration of the tank farm into the product tracking application. In the course of the renewal, all control cabinets and all valve terminals in the field were also replaced.

With this project the aging SLC control hardware and software was replaced. The modules and functions were implemented in Nestlé's latest BAF (Basic Automation Framework) generation. The modern visualization was the first application to be integrated into the new system platform at the Basel site. A further scope of this project was the entire product tracking which was implemented by a specially developed application based on .Net Framework.

Development of a new system platform according to customer standards and network expansion