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Reducing vacuum packaging costs for Paulig

04 July 2024

A central vacuum system, designed to work with ten packaging machines, has helped Paulig Belgium achieve savings on energy and maintenance costs.

Inside, several vacuum pumps from Busch are working together as a team, ensuring that production never stops. Usually, one packaging line would require three vacuum pumps. By centralizing the vacuum supply, the number of vacuum pumps and costs has been drastically reduced. Through the demand-driven basis of the central vacuum system, Paulig Belgium now saves 15,000 Euro on energy costs and 5,000 Euro on maintenance costs per year.

The Paulig Group is a family-owned food and beverage company on a mission to grow a sustainable food culture. Founded in 1876 as a wholesale business for imported groceries in Finland, its products are now sold in 70 countries through retailers and caterers. It produces a variety of products ranging from coffee and beverages to a snack products such as popcorn and tortilla chips, taco shells and lentil chips. Today the organisation has 2,300 employees in 13 countries. 

Paulig Belgium, along with seven other Paulig production sites, became carbon-neutral production in 2022. The company switched to more energy-efficient processes, as well as district heating and renewable sources of electricity and gas – initiatives which have cut emissions by 98% since 2014. 

Ensuring sustainability
To further ensure sustainability, nothing goes to waste at the Belgium-based factory – any misshaped tortilla wraps are ground up and used again, while anything that falls on the ground is sold as animal feed.

Paulig produces 12 different kinds of tortilla wraps. From wheat and whole grain to corn, beetroot, and even chia seeds. Production runs around the clock, with 25 tortilla wraps per minute. 

Amongst other ingredients, flour, salt, oil and water are mixed together to form a stretchable dough. Once formed, it is laid to rest in a warm environment to promote the development of a uniform and strong gluten network. Then, the dough is divided and shaped into balls. For the gluten network to relax, the dough balls are proofed again. Once rested, the dough balls are flattened, shaped, and transported to the oven. After being baked at 200°C for 30 minutes, the tortillas are cooled before they are stacked, to prevent them from sticking together. 

The company relies on modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to safeguard the freshness of its products. A thermoforming packaging machine is connected to the central vacuum system. Two rolls of packaging films are fed to the machine. The bottom film is heated to a specific temperature, allowing it to be moulded into the desired shape and the heated plastic is then moved to a forming station, where vacuum pulls the sheet over the custom-made mould. A specialised cooling mechanism ensures that the tray is cooled, allowing the mould to be removed. 

The tortilla wraps are placed in the tray and vacuum removes 99% of the air in the packaging, while another machine replaces it with CO2N2. This protective gas blend ensures that the tortilla wraps are well preserved and do not oxidise and become stale. Acting as a gas-tight seal, the second packaging film roll is applied and closes the tray. “Thanks to the vacuum supplied by Busch, we can significantly increase the shelf life of our product and ensure that it stays as fresh as the day it was packaged,” said Rik Vandenbroucke, Technical Engineering Manager at Paulig.

The central vacuum system is not only responsible for the packaging of the tortilla wraps but also for their transportation inside the production facility. Pick-and-place machines use vacuum to lift each pack of tortilla wraps into a cardboard box. When the box is full, it is stacked on a pallet ready for onwards shipment.  

During the construction of the new production facility, Paulig Belgium consulted with vacuum experts from Busch, who advised them to opt for a centralised vacuum system instead of a decentralised one. Throughout the planning and implementation processes, the companies collaborated to ensure a successful installation. If Paulig Belgium had not chosen a central vacuum system, each packaging line would have need to be equipped with three vacuum pumps. “By centralising our vacuum supply we significantly reduced the number of vacuum pumps required by our process, and vacuum is always readily available. With a central vacuum system we save 15,000 euro on annual energy costs,” said Rik. The new system even enabled the company to replace the venturi ejectors that previously supplied all pick-and-place processes by converting compressed air into vacuum.

“Our production runs 24/7 in five shifts and is only shut down for two weeks out of the year. The central vacuum system not only ensures smooth day-to-day production, but it also makes maintenance a breeze,” explained Rik. “We do not need to stop production in order to carry out maintenance on our vacuum pumps, and since they are not installed inside the packaging machines and they are much easier to reach and service.” This has resulted in Paulig Belgium saving an additional 5,000 euro on maintenance costs per year. Thanks to the system being installed in a separate room, heat and noise on the production floor have also been reduced. 

Currently, the central vacuum system is designed for ten packaging lines. It consists of nine rotary vane vacuum pumps, three vacuum boosters, three dry claw vacuum pumps, and a vacuum vessel. 

Further reducing costs
To further reduce energy costs, each vacuum pump is equipped with a variable speed drive (VSD) which adapts the pumping speed according to the fluctuations in demand through the production process by regulating the rotational speed of the vacuum pump’s motor. Paulig Belgium plans to add another seven packaging lines to its production facility, amounting to 17 packaging lines in total. Powered by vacuum, it will be able to produce even more tortilla wraps per year.


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