Watson-Marlow Bredel pump chosen for McVitie's cakes

Reduction of damage to delicate products during pumping, less time spent on cleaning and maintenance, and fewer production hold-ups due to blocked suction or delivery lines, were the major considerations when the McVitie's Cake Company of Halifax decided on a Watson-Marlow Bredel SPX50 peristaltic pump for a transfer application.

The peristaltic pump is equally effective whether handling shear sensitive, easily damaged products, or viscous and abrasive media. The pumping action is inherently gentle and a feature of the Watson-Marlow Bredel design is the composite hose element. This is a laminated structure consisting of a hard rubber outer covering, reinforced by braided nylon for mechanical strength, and a thick inner cushion of softer elastomer - food grade in the case of the pump at McVitie's. This enables products as diverse as soft fruit and food ingredients, as well as substances containing high concentrations of hard solids, to be handled with equal ease.

By virtue of their construction, peristaltic pumps are easily incorporated into full velocity CIP or SIP systems without the need for a by-pass, whilst the pumping action ensures that the hose is fully swept with no crevices or dead spots where product residues can accumulate.

With no other component in contact with the pumped product and few moving parts, maintenance is greatly simplified. When switching products or changing duties there is no need for time consuming cleaning. All that is required is a simple hose change.

The pumped product remains enclosed within the smooth bore hose element throughout the pumping process and passes from suction to delivery, unobstructed by vanes, valves, glands, diaphragms, immersed rotors, stators or pistons. This virtually eliminates risk of blockage when handling viscous pastes, batters and slurry type products.