Doubling Cook Batches without Doubling Footprint

This featured system doubled cooking batches within a minimal footprint used well-planned equipment selection, floor layout, and controls customization. Mepaco®’s
cooking system featured side-by-side ThermaBlend® cookers, with a shared maintenance and sanitation platform.

SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY
The multi-recipe prepared foods processor benefited from flexibility in production scenarios. The system can run two batches at once, staggered, or different batches in each cooker, all driven by production demand and recipe controls.

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY
The ThermaBlend® Cooker supports quick homogeneous batch turn for their multi-recipe production requirements. The wrap-around heat jacket design, bi-directional scraper system, and an application-specific agitator create cooking and blending efficiencies.

Further efficiencies of the ThermaBlend® cooker include the variation of processing capabilities in one unit, such as cooking, searing, caramelizing, sautéing, and blending. A versatile unit, ThermaBlend®’s is designed for large-scale cooking operations. Customization such as integrating vacuum and cooling, also provides added efficiency.

The batches are discharged into a heated buffering mixer that maintains product temperature and consistency until signaled for release to downstream operations.

The opposite cover design on the dual cookers with the shared platform and the electropolished food contact surfaces create a high degree of sanitation efficiency.

SYSTEM RELIABILITY

The system is highly controlled and reliable. Mepaco’s ThermaBlend®’s are engineered with extremely robust stay-bolt ASME-rated jackets. Cookers are customized to the application, including experienced agitator designs to meet rigorous production requirements.

Two column dumpers are used to add ingredients to two ThermaBlend® cookers.  The Mepaco® Column Dumper offers a very heavy-duty design and is engineered for
maintenance ease.  Mepaco® often makes modifications depending on the application, such as column heights, dump angles to 60 degrees, dumper capacity, extended chutes, and stainless upgrade kit.

Mepaco® has a new test cooker for processors with new products or recipes requiring cooking and blending. The test cooker is a 75-gallon ThermaBlend® unit with steam injection, vacuum, pneumatic covers and doors, and dual ribbon agitators. Learn more about scheduling a trial.

The Mepaco® brand has been around for a long time. The company began in 1932, and we are well known for our blending systems. Mepaco®’s team of long-standing technical sales managers, engineers, and project leaders work with customer teams to solve for the best solution that fits the application and production goals. Our equipment and systems uphold increased yield performance, optimal designs for ease of maintenance and operation, single-source manufacturing capabilities, the highest sanitary equipment finishes available and vigilant compliance of food safety criteria.