Platform for the food and beverage industry
Impeccable food safety starts with the right temperature at every stage of the production process. A controlled production climate is therefore of utmost importance, but comes with an unavoidable energy cost. As a multi-technical partner, EQUANS knows how to translate the peculiarities of your process and building into installations that are performant, reliable and above all economical, so that you can pass the strictest quality standards at the lowest operating costs.
Producing food brings its own very specific challenges. Van Der Veken: "The environment in which food is produced must in no way compromise quality and food safety. Two elements are important here. On the one hand, air treatment to ensure the desired moisture content and prevent food from coming into contact with contamination. On the other hand, cooling and heating to ensure that they are exposed to the right temperatures at every stage." As a multitechnical partner, EQUANS can boast more than half a century of experience to come up with an appropriate solution to these challenges.
As for air treatment, Van Der Veken sees planning as the main focus. "We have the techniques at our fingertips. Whether the customer needs clean piping, laminar air speeds ... We always work out a concept tailored to the needs. Only then do we start looking for the suitable suppliers who can best meet them in terms of delivery time and specifications." But because HVAC systems must be integrated into the construction along with the building, many parties must work together in a coordinated and meticulous manner to achieve the desired result. Timing is everything. "The strength of EQUANS is the size of our organization. If more capacity is needed to meet the deadline, we can quickly switch with our teams. Additionally, as a BIM expert, we are a perfect partner for architects and study firms."
Cold production is one of the biggest costs on the energy bill. Therefore, the importance of energy efficiency cannot be underestimated today. "The customer can always count on the most economical installation. For EQUANS that is always the starting point. We have been working for years on total solutions where we use the residual heat of our cooling installation in places in the production where heat is just needed. So integrated solutions, which are calculated in detail by our engineering office DESS (Development of Energy Saving). That way we can achieve the best efficiencies." To maintain the highest quality, however, companies cannot afford downtime in their cooling systems. "We therefore build redundancy into critical systems. By putting them together from multiple circuits, for example, so that even if one fails, work can continue. In addition, we deploy remote monitoring. When a parameter (temperature, pressure, current, etc.) is no longer within certain limits, we can intervene immediately. In most cases, our technicians on duty solve the problem themselves online. If they do have to go on site, they already know what is necessary to carry out the repair," Van Der Veken says.
In terms of air treatment as well as cooling and heating, EQUANS can incidentally also take on the maintenance and aftercare. Van Der Veken: "We want to be a partner. The intention is to completely relieve the customer during the entire life span of the installation. Problems can arise at any stage. Customers can rely on us to always get everything right. Because when it comes to air treatment and cooling, there can be no compromises. The installations must work and deliver the promised performance."
Always the right temperature
In Erpe-Mere, EQUANS participates in the construction of the new production hall of our customer La Lorraine. There EQUANS is taking care of all work related to industrial piping, HVAC and high and medium voltage. The building is 168 m long and 78 m wide. EQUANS will lay almost 10 km of industrial pipelines there for hot and cold water, gas and compressed air. The teams' know-how provides a response to the increasingly stringent standards applicable in the food sector. Air conditioning and heating installations will also meet the highest standards. A total of 21 air handling units, 3 boilers and 31 air heaters will provide the desired indoor climate. A special feature is that, depending on the need (heating or cooling), air displacement diffusers will dynamically control the air flows for optimal comfort and excellent air quality. And that's not all. EQUANS is installing a main electrical cabin where the connection to the Fluvius network will be made, as well as an internal medium voltage cabin for the connection of four transformers. The project requires some 3.5 km of high-voltage cables.
