GEA hot water stretching machines with rotary paddles offer the industry reliable and robust continuous systems for medium-to-high industrial-scale throughput. All our machines can be used with our dry salt dosing systems, and connected to any of the GEA range of molding units, including our carousel machines for high capacity.
GEA hot water stretching machines with rotary paddles ensure optimum stretching, water content and temperature control. Two counter-rotating augers in the feeding tunnel pre-stretch the curd pieces as they are transported from the cutting unit into the mixing vat. Manual micrometric valves control the amount of hot water delivered to both the feeding tunnel and to the mixing vat. The hot water also pasteurizes the cheese as it is stretched by the rotary paddles.
After the required residence time in the mixing vat the stretched cheese is conveyed to the molding unit by two augers. Waste liquid is passed through a grilled filter into a feeler-controlled vat, from where it is pumped away.
GEA hot water stretching systems are also designed for optimum reliability. Servo-motor drives with mechanical inverters guarantee robust operation and enable highly precise control of auger and paddle speeds. The augers, paddles and machine body are Teflon-coated, and specific models can be supplied with GEA’s innovative non-stick Vulcan treatment, which offers a near-permanent alternative to Teflon coating.
Mechanical and electromechanical protection is incorporated in dangerous areas of all systems to ensure operator safety, and hygienic design means that our hot water stretching technology complies with the most stringent of regulations. GEA solutions are also supplied with all the required pipework and sprinklers for connection to a cleaning-in-place plant, to ensure the most efficient cleaning, reduced water consumption, and cleaning solution recovery.
Remote assistance by GEA engineers is also possible for PLC-operated machines.
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The water equation
Across Europe, drought is a recurring reality – and no longer confined to the south. While water increasingly shapes where industries locate, its value is determined by local context. There are many technological routes to water efficiency in industrial processes, but location, energy needs and other factors are also key.
