In high-volume FMCG manufacturing the commercial constraint is rarely peak line speed. It is changeover. SKU proliferation, driven by pack format, promotional variants and private label, means modern plant spends a substantial proportion of its available hours not producing. Reducing that is an engineering problem, and it is usually a more valuable one than chasing another few percent of rated output.

Projex Solutions provides engineering design, process safety support and EPCM project delivery for FMCG liquid and powder manufacturing operations. This page covers processing and filling; sites whose only activity is packaging fall outside our normal scope.

What makes this work different

Changeover is the constraint. Cleaning between products, format changes on filling lines and buffer capacity between process and pack all determine effective capacity. The design questions are about dedicated versus shared equipment, CIP circuit configuration and surge provision.

Powder handling brings dust explosion risk. Bulk intake, silo storage, pneumatic conveying, blending and dosing all generate combustible dust, requiring zoning under DSEAR and explosion protection design.

CIP determines both quality and capacity. Coverage, contact time, temperature and chemical concentration have to be achievable within the cleaning window on the plant as it exists now, not as it was originally configured.

Process and pack are rarely balanced. Most efficiency losses on FMCG sites occur at the interface between them, where surge capacity, buffering and control philosophy have not kept up with line changes.

Utilities are often the hidden limit. Steam, chilled water, compressed air and effluent have usually been extended incrementally and are frequently the actual constraint on a capacity project.

Where we help

  • Changeover reduction engineering, covering CIP circuit design, dedicated versus shared equipment and format change
  • Dust explosion assessment and protection design across the powder train
  • DSEAR assessment and hazardous area classification
  • CIP system design and verification, including coverage and capacity on existing plant
  • Process and pack interface design, including surge and buffering
  • Utilities capacity assessment and upgrade design
  • Capacity, debottlenecking and new line introduction
  • 3D laser scanning for accurate survey ahead of layout change
  • CDM 2015 duty holder support and EPCM delivery under ISO 9001:2015

Typical reasons clients get in touch

  • Changeover is consuming production hours that capital cannot buy back
  • Dust explosion protection on the powder train needs assessing or upgrading
  • CIP no longer cleans the plant within the window available
  • Capacity has to increase and nobody is certain what the actual constraint is
  • Utilities are limiting production and need assessing properly
  • A new line has to fit into an existing building

Related

Part of our work across the FMCG sector. See also food and beverage processing, and detergents, soaps and household chemicals.

Standards and regulations we work to

  • Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 where food contact applies
  • BRCGS Global Standard Food Safety Issue 9 and FSSC 22000 Version 7
  • DSEAR 2002, with ACOP L138 (second edition, 2013), for combustible dust
  • BS EN 60079-10-2 for dust area classification
  • BS EN 1672-2:2020 for food processing machinery hygiene and cleanability
  • PUWER 1998, with ACOP L22 (fourth edition, 2014, amended 2018)
  • Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (as amended), for trade effluent
  • CDM 2015 and ISO 9001:2015

Frequently asked questions

We want more capacity. Where should we look first?
At changeover and at utilities, before line speed. Most sites find that available hours lost to changeover exceed anything another few percent of rated output would deliver, and that steam, chilled water or compressed air is the actual constraint rather than the process equipment.

How do we know what our real bottleneck is?
By measuring rather than assuming. A short assessment of actual line performance, changeover time and utility headroom usually identifies a constraint different from the one the site expects, and it costs a great deal less than the wrong capital project.

Is dust explosion protection needed on a food powder line?
If the powder is explosible, yes, and most food powders are. Intake, silo storage, pneumatic conveying, blending and dosing all need assessment, with venting, suppression and isolation designed as a system rather than fitted piecemeal.

Can a new line fit into our existing building?
Frequently, but the answer depends on as-built reality rather than drawings. 3D laser scanning resolves that question in days and prevents the far more expensive discovery during installation.

Can you assess our site before we commit to a capital project?
Yes, and we would usually recommend it. A short constraint assessment covering line performance, changeover and utility headroom costs a fraction of a capital scheme and frequently redirects it.

Do you design pneumatic conveying systems?
Yes, including dense and dilute phase selection, and the dust explosion protection that has to be designed alongside rather than added afterwards.

Can changeover really be engineered down, or is it a scheduling problem?
Both, but the engineering usually offers more. Dedicated contact parts, CIP circuit design that allows sections to be cleaned in parallel, and quick-release fittings all reduce the fixed element of changeover time, which scheduling alone cannot touch.

Talk to us about your site. Request a call