Snow-white, creamy and slightly crumbly: Italian manufacturers know precisely what perfect ricotta needs to look like – especially if the traditional family-run companies have been producing the fine cream cheese by hand since back in their grandparents’ day. And this also applies to our reference company based in Northern Italy, the origins of which date back to a small, artisan cheese manufacturer. Alongside ricotta, today the company produces mascarpone and ricotta-based creams and desserts, annually selling around 7,000 tonnes of dairy products. The unique feature of ricotta is its consistency, as the Italian specialist cheese needs to be creamy yet also crumbly and grainy. “That presents a major challenge for any pump as the fine grains are not to be compressed by the pumping process,” explains the WANGEN PUMPEN Southern Europe Area Sales Manager, who is responsible for the sale and distribution of WANGEN pumps in Italy alongside the company’s sales partner Fluitech s.r.l.
Improved technology for high-grade foods
The Italian cheese manufacturer is continually investing in innovative technology to improve both its production processes and product quality. The company’s existing hopper feed pump for the production of ricotta, supplied by a competitor, was therefore to be replaced as the product comes into contact with an elastomer in the pump. As the cream cheese producer already knows the Italian sales partner as well as Pumpenfabrik Wangen products, and trusts “Made in Germany” quality, the company is receptive to a hygienic and ultra-gentle solution. The customer’s sustainability and energy efficiency requirements also needed to be taken into consideration with the new model.
Energy-efficient twin screw pump plus Vario Twin NG
The Vario Twin NG is the patented additional module for the WANGEN Twin NG and combines the proven and high-performance pump with a variable hopper and well-thought-out screw conveyor: the system is specifically designed for high-viscosity and non-free-flowing media, such as fresh ricotta. The Vario Twin NG conveys the ricotta mass gently, as well as hygienically and continuously. Thanks to the non-corrugated design of the screw, excess material can simply flow back into the infeed. The energy- efficient geometry of the Vario Twin NG screw guarantees low energy consumption as achieving its sustainability targets is also important to the cream cheese manufacturer. The module is installed directly under the filter mat for the ricotta and pumps the cheese mass through the twin screw pump into various tanks for further processing. As the length of the hopper can be designed in increments to meet requirements, the flexible Vario Twin NG can be adapted precisely to each process. Two separate motors ensure that the medium is pre-delivered independently of the actual pump – the speeds can be coordinated for optimum transport of the ricotta mass to be gentle on the product.
To summarise: The combination of the WANGEN Twin NG pump with the Vario Twin NG additional module is an optimum solution for sensitive products in the food sector. High-viscosity and non-free- flowing products, in particular, are transported reliably and energy-efficiently. Sensitive and shear- sensitive textures, like the fine-grained and yet creamy ricotta cheese, are handled gently to guarantee the continuous high quality of the product.
Technical data
The CIP, SIP or EHEDG-approved models of the pump series developed specifically for the dairy industry guarantee maximum safety when cleaning.
- Capacity: max. 10 m3/h
- Temperature: max. +90 °C
- Viscosity: up to 3,000,000 mPa·s
- All materials are FDA-compliant and wetted parts are manufactured in 1.4571/1.4404
- Hygiene-optimised design with minimal dead space
- Infeed for the WANGEN Twin NG series 104 and 130
