Tight quality control and continuous quality improvement are essential to acquiring and keeping customers. Through Process Automation and Clean-In-Place (CIP) technology, FMC B&T provides clients with the tools necessary to consistently manufacture to rigorous formula specifications without giving away expensive raw material components.

Quality Improvement = Higher Profits
Poor quality results in product waste and a dissatisfied customers. Manufacturing systems that cannot produce on-spec products consistently without generating product waste, unnecessarily sacrifice profits. And worse, shipping off-spec products creates dissatisfied customers, frequently resulting in product returns while generating a dubious reputation. These factors not only have an immediate drag on profits, but a lingering impact on the ability to keep and attract new business, as well. So what is the solution? Process Automation and Clean-In-Place technology.

Process Automation
The key to consistently formulating with high levels of accuracy is process automation. Automation assures every component of a manufacturing formulation is consistently added in the precise quantities, at the precise time or sequence needed to meet the product specifications. Process automation systems also continuously monitor vital in-process product specifications and automatically make adjustments to process conditions to assure the end result is a quality product. Two automation systems have been developed by FMC Blending & Transfer, promising that every manufacturing system delivers the highest quality products--the multi-functional e-BLEND to control discrete blending and processing activities and the System Seven for plant-wide automation and raw materials management.

Clean-In-Place Technology
Clean-In-Place technology is designed into every FMC B&T manufacturing solution. Automatic Batch Blenders (ABB) are equipped with spray balls for rinsing between batches and consuming a minimum quantity of rinse media. In most cases, the rinse media is a raw material that can be collected for reuse. Drum decanting units (DDU) are designed with a rinse tank containing rinse media for cleaning the drum lance between component additions and cleaning the drums when empty. In-line blenders (ILB) contain air blow back and self-draining features. Last, but not least are the pigging systems designed to allow multiple products to sequentially utilize common lines for product transfer to numerous destinations without creating cross contamination or flushing waste.