Metal conveyors in food industry

Although plastic seems like an ideal material for use in the food industry because of its hygienic properties, Belt Technologies focuses instead on metal conveyors. Because these can be both cooled and heated, they keep heat-sensitive products in shape and function as induction plates in fast food production. M. C. Technology represents this American company, providing all the drive and control technology needed to create a full-fledged conveyor system.

M. C. Technology is basically a Technical Trading Company with over 25 years of experience in the field of drive and control technology. A focus here is on stepper motors and slides as well as guides and linear actuators, among others. Based on all available knowledge and experience, the company is able to advise on the right combination of products, the corresponding controls and integration into existing systems.

Metal conveyors

A special duck in the pie are the "metal conveyor belts. These are developed and produced by the American company Belt Technologies. Sales engineer at M. C. Technology Jorgo van Duffelen: "Plastic is widely used in the food industry because of its hygienic properties. On the other hand, plastic also has some disadvantages, including high elongation and low resistance to higher temperatures. Exactly on those points, metal belts are the ultimate solution."

Metal as a conveyor belt

In the food industry, metal conveyor belts are used for sealing plastic and paper bags and in the production of meat and fish, pizzas and ice cream, among other things, using very high and low temperatures. Van Duffelen: "We have many great application examples from M. C. Technology. For example, there was a customer who had been using a conveyor system with a plastic belt for years. However, the number of problems was steadily increasing due, among other things, to damage to the belt. This caused products to stick and increased the maintenance requirements of the conveyor system."

M. C. Technology recommended a stainless steel conveyor belt and then developed the complete mechanical system and the necessary drive technology in-house. Because the entire system was made entirely to customer specifications, it could easily be integrated into the production process and combined with existing dispensers. Van Duffelen: "With these, products of caramel and chocolate are dosed onto the belt in certain shapes. By cooling the belt, the liquid products stay neat and retain their shape. They were also then easy to take off the conveyor belt. Based on this success, we built further conveyor systems for transporting nougat, among other things."

Conveyor belt as a baking tray

Metal bands conduct not only cold but also heat very well. Based on this fact, Justech from Sweden developed the Inducook system for preparing meat products. The system consists of two coated stainless steel conveyor belts with non-stick coating that have induction coils on both the top and bottom that heat the belts up to a maximum of 425°C. In this way, the meat is heated very quickly, has a short baking time and there is a high degree of control over the baking process. Meanwhile, experience has been gained in preparing the most common fast-food meat products such as bacon, hamburgers and kebab meat. Van Duffelen: "The Inducook is a special application of a metal conveyor belt that provides some distinctive advantages. For example, there is a very high hygiene standard, the belts are easy to clean, the heat supply can be regulated very precisely for a perfect product and you can also change products quickly because the temperature can be regulated almost instantly. Furthermore, the non-stick coatings are FDA approved and prevent products from sticking. Finally, induction technology is very energy efficient: practically all electrical energy is converted into heat."

Please feel free to contact us if you see possibilities for metal conveyor belts in your company. For example, for high temperature, clean room, antistatic, vacuum and pick & place applications and for special product carriers.