Karn design: an automated control system for Aveno’s production processes

Aveno. Our southern neighbours know how to dish up French fries that taste better than any you can eat elsewhere. What is the secret of this scrumptiously tasty food experience?

Well, a good beginning really is half the battle in this case. Creating the best French fries in the world starts with using only the best oils and fats. In this case, the apple (or should we say potato?) doesn’t fall far from the tree, as these oils and fats are produced by Aveno in Antwerp. To assure its end users of the best frying results, our customer set out to answer the key question in frying: how does lipid chemistry contribute to a perfect structure in the fried product? By now, you will have understood that there is more to producing scrumptious French fries than meets the eye. 

Aveno is located in the port of Antwerp: the main trading hub of Europe. By no means an unnecessary luxury, because the company delivers its products from this home base to the farthest corners of Europe and beyond. This means that the factory cannot afford even a second of downtime. High time, then, for an automated machine that will keep all the processes running smoothly! Meet the ‘Karn’: a machine that dispenses and mixes various raw materials and additives. The product is then cooled so that it is ready to be pumped into the packaging. Automatic tracking of the raw materials and additives used per batch is essential to ensuring food traceability.

Only the very best is good enough. So our experts chose an automation solution built around the Siemens PCS 7 system for the ‘Karn’. A unique combination with the Simatic Batch and APF extension packages delivers automatic order processing and tracking & tracing in the production process. This is pretty unique, like the fact that our experts are trained APF system integrators, which is also something you don’t see every day.

We supported Aveno in all areas. We started by conducting interviews with the customer to get a picture of the maximum capabilities the ‘Karn’ needed to deliver. Armed with that input, we documented how the system operates and then verified our findings with the customer in incremental steps. That approach allowed us to incorporate all of Aveno’s ideas and satisfy all of the company’s wishes. A smart move, as we ended up only having to make minimal adjustments to the production process and the way tracking and tracing was reported. Of course, while designing the ‘Karn’, we also took into account the needs of its users. In addition, staffing levels remain low thanks to the new ‘Karn’! An added bonus in terms of efficiency.

After all that work, the great moment finally arrives and the new ‘Karn’ comes to life! The result is more than satisfactory: a control system that oversees all aspects of production on not one, not two, but five product lines! Furthermore, even the smallest quantity of raw materials and additives used in the process can be traced at order and batch level, or by date and time. The control system’s operation has been adapted to the number of users. This makes for a system with a high degree of automation, minimising the need for staff. So, thanks to the ‘Karn’, Aveno is now completely future-ready. Last but not least, our work means that the world can continue to enjoy the very best French fries for a long time to come.