Dutch maker of ethnic dairy foods, Özgazi Dairy Foods, opted for an air conditioning solution by Air Quality Process (AQP) back in 2015 when the company installed a Coagulator for continuous cheese making supplied by ALPMA. The cooperation of AQP and Özgazi proved to be the optimal solution for open systems (see photo), summarises Plant Manager Vural Aktürk after eight years of using the air conditioning system.
„Process rooms with high humidity, especially with white cheese types, like feta, mozzarella, blue cheese, need special respect when it comes to air conditioning“, says Mr Aktürk. „You need a solution to separate fresh air and recycled air. And you need a system with the simplest design guaranteeing trouble-free operation. That is why Özgazi chose AQP as supplier of air conditioning for the whole plant“.
Conventional air conditioning systems often feature a recycling AHU (Air Handling Unit). They recycle humidity into the filters and the rigid recovery pipes, which are difficult to clean. This results in an overall higher risk of contamination. The AQP solution prevents that humidity is being sucked back into the filter system. The solution is simple and based on a highly hygienic design with an all-fresh air AHU and stainless steel air-conditioners that are easy to clean and control. AQP systems recycle the air containing humidity and particles. This eliminates the risk of the air conditioning equipment becoming a vector of contamination. The air conditioners are also sized in a way to become efficient driers during the cleaning stage so that cheese dairies can go back in production very quickly, with a sane atmosphere.
Tailor-made installation
Tailor-made installation„We had to install a solution in our existing building and AQP’s system has been operating extremely reliable from day one. We appreciate the system’s simplicity that requires little maintenance as it has only very few components and are easy replaceable. All in all, we have installed a very good system for air conditioning“, says Mr. Aktürk. AQP’s system for Özgazi was tailor-made as with all their solutions. Nicolas Soulier, Area Sales Manager AQP, points out that this is a prerequisite to guarantee the effectiveness of any air conditioning system as each and every food production site is different from another. Tailor-made projects offer the highest level of health safety for air treatment in cheese dairies, whereby AQP‘s air conditioners are the only one in the world that have USDA acceptance (fully CIP- and controllable).
Given its vast expertise in air flow management, AQP can supply hygienic air treatment to cheese plants for all types of cheese, all types of rooms, be it greenfield or brownfield projects. It greatly helps that engineering, manufacturing and commissioning are carried out by our own teams to ensure a high quality installation. Meanwhile, AQP has equipped 350 cheese dairies worldwide and is therefore a renowned supplier of air conditioning systems in the dairy industry.
Click here to read the full article in International Dairy Magazine
