Maximum energy efficiency and extreme reduction of emissions, intelligent remote management and increased safety, up to predictive maintenance: All the excellence of 4.0 plants in the heart of Romagna.
The Parma-based company Mingazzini, a reference point at Italian and international level in the field of steam boilers for industrial use, installed a new state-of-the-art plant for Conserve Italia. From an Industry 4.0 perspective: A virtuous model of resource management, with reduced environmental impact and strong savings in emissions and energy consumption, for a decidedly forward-looking formula, under the banner of technology, quality and environmental sustainability, in line with the objectives and innovation introduced by Conserve Italia in its facilities in Massa Lombarda and Barbiano, both near Ravenna, which specialize in the production of fruit juices.
A winning partnership
Tradition and modernity, experience and foresight in the encounter between two historic companies of excellence: Mingazzini Caldaie and Conserve Italia, a co-operative group based in San Lazzaro di Savena (BO), Italy’s leading agri-food industry with the brands Valfrutta, Cirio, Yoga, Derby Blue and Jolly Colombani, brings together over 14,000 Italian farmers in 39 co-operative associations and over 600,000 tonnes of fruit, tomatoes and vegetables received and processed in 12 production plants, 9 of which in Italy.
The recent EUR 86.6 million investment plan involving 7 of the Group’s Italian plants plus the headquarters, with the possibility of intercepting funds from the NRRP and other State funds, in addition to an important use of own resources, also involved the company in Parma for a renewal of its plants. The plan is built on several strategic assets, including technology innovation, product quality improvement, process efficiency, energy savings, environmental sustainability, and digitalization.
It is the road to the future that Conserve Italia has mapped out until 2026 and that it has already begun to implement with the first interventions. These included the efficiency of the Massa Lombarda and Barbiano facilities, both near Ravenna, specialized in the production of fruit juices. With more than 90 years of experience and more than 10,000 projects carried out worldwide, Mingazzini has already brought results in this area, and with Conserve Italia shares the concept of quality, expressed in every aspect, from raw materials to production sites, focusing on the goodness, not only of the product, but also of its processing, with an eye also to the production plants and their safety and sustainability.
A goal fully achieved thanks to the support provided by the historic company, Mingazzini Srl of Parma, which since 1929 has been a reference point for the food and beverage industry, focused on quality, efficiency and customization, creating ever more performing systems in terms of energy savings and respect for the environment.
Latest generation technology
The constant growth of Conserve Italia and the multi-annual investment plan have created the conditions to strengthen a virtuous management, both from an environmental and economic point of view, with an increase in efficiency of the plants, a reduction in consumption and a better allocation of resources. From the initial evaluations, the result has become concrete thanks to Mingazzini’s experience and commitment in supplying customized, increasingly reliable, and high-tech systems to the facilities in Massa Lombarda and Barbiano, as the latest generation PB series models featuring technologies that increase energy savings and emission control, while simplifying their control.
One of Mingazzini’s distinctive features is the ability to provide everything necessary for the modern and efficient construction and management of thermal power plants of any size. Thanks to the possibility of connection, complete supervision of the boiler or power plant can be carried out by remote control and remote diagnostics, without continuous supervision, for 24/72 h. The PB Series covers outputs from 2000 to 30,000 kg/h, with rated pressures up to 22 or higher, if requested. With a base efficiency of 90%, the PB series is a last-generation, environmentally friendly plant that, depending on the number of working hours and the type of fuel used, can be equipped with energy recovery systems dedicated to a single boiler, capable of achieving efficiencies up to 97.5%.
Even higher results can be obtained with exclusive recovery systems tailored to the specific plant features, maximising the condensation of boiler fumes to recover as much as possible of the contained latent heat (in addition to the perceived heat), even reaching up to 99%. The PB series models comply with Directive 2014/68/EU and represent the latest generation in the field of fire-tube steam generators. Built following the latest technologies and processing systems, they guarantee energy savings, reduced emissions and maximum efficiency.
The result is undoubtedly remarkable, as the latest generation plants ensure that all data, pressure, levels, alarms, methane gas consumption, and steam, are always available, providing for outstanding overall efficiency of performance, including energy efficiency. All this with an interface that allows the management of boilers even remotely, adjusting each plant according to the production flows and the required daily performance, even from a common device, such as a computer, mobile phone, tablet, reducing waste and dissipation, consumption and emissions, limiting everything to the actual daily needs, on each plant.
A competitive result with added value: The possibility of tracing specific consumptions, i.e. kilos of steam produced per cubic metre of methane gas, creating a history that can be superscribed over time. This means being able to carry out predictive maintenance, thereby avoiding unexpected machine downtime, which is another huge benefit. For both companies, quality and sustainability are not just a reaction to recent global demands, but a real concern for the community.
Effective eco-sustainability and resource optimization are objectives that Mingazzini manages to achieve by means of increasingly advanced and performing systems in terms of energy saving and respect for the environment, with maximum concentration on the development of exclusive energy recovery systems, flexible and tailored to the needs of individual customers and industrial sectors. In addition to the development of the most innovative combustion systems with progressive reduction of atmospheric emissions.
