GEA Liquid Processing is well-known for the supply of complete process lines to the dairy industry. Over the years, GEA Liquid Processing  has also gained great insight and experience with the rebuilding and extension of existing processing plants from a large number of successful rebuilding projects.

Arla Foods Sweden was planning a radical structural change involving, among other things, the transfer of production volume from a number of small dairies to a few, big market milk dairies in Sweden, including Arla Foods’ dairy in Jönköping. As an experienced executer of rebuilding projects GEA Liquid Processing was also asked to quote for the forthcoming rebuilding of Jönköping Dairy.

Thorough Preparatory Work
From the start of the project Arla Foods Sweden made the requirements to be met by the supplier absolutely clear: Full functional and capacity responsibility, full responsibility for the observance of the agreed time schedule, and a relatively long quotation phase involving a considerable number of working meetings in which the project would be successively adjusted up to the time of conclusion of the contract.

The conditions were difficult, but far from unknown to GEA Liquid Processing who took up the challenge and established a homogeneous project group with a 100% dedicated project manager and responsible project engineers from Day 1 on both the mechanical/process-technical side and on the electric/automation side.

Based on a feasibility study prepared by the client, GEA Liquid Processing forwarded its first quotation to Arla Foods in October 2004. A considerable number of clarification and coordination meetings were to be held before the final concept was in place and Arla was ready to entrust GEA Liquid Processing with the responsibility for the execution of the project in the early summer of 2005. However, the thorough preparatory work carried out in the initial phase turned out to be returned tenfold later on, in the form of meticulous process- and automation solutions – often with GEA Liquid Processing’ distinct fingerprint –, detailed planning of all phases of the project and a clear common understanding of the project’s goal.

Optimum Coordination
In order to ensure the required criss-cross coordination – with the client, sub-suppliers and all other parties involved at the dairy –intense meetings continued throughout the entire project. In total 39 ordinary project meetings were held with the participation of both the client and key-suppliers to the project – most of them in GEA Liquid Processing’ project office with full office-, meeting-, and IT setup established on the site in Jönköping.

Since the rebuilding project included many subphases, the project also involved a large number of commissioning sessions – in total approx. 20 sessions which were all carried out successfully within the ordinary weekend standstill period of max. 24 hours without any disturbing impact on the operation of the dairy.

Full Flexibility
Full flexibility was one of the main demands made on the rebuilt production plant, calling for not only an extension, but also a drastic change of all parts of the production plant and of its control system.

Today, each individual part in the rebuilt production plant can be completely flexibly connected based on GEA’s unique valve concept, allowing for optimum utilization of the equipment and quick shift from one product to another.

However, flexibility was also key to the successful execution of the project. In the course of the project period the main time schedule was adapted 26 times, and about 50 supplementary orders/project changes were discussed in order to meet new requests from Arla Foods to match the given market situation.

In spite of the ongoing adjustments, a total overview and agreement on the scope of the project was maintained throughout the entire project. Prior to the start of the rebuilding work, all existing plant documentation available at Arla Foods was imported into GEA Liquid Processing’ Bentley CAE system. Thanks to the system, GEA Liquid Processing’ project group kept complete control of all new components and all successively removed/relocated/replaced components. To such an extent that Jönköping Dairy has subsequently purchased a Bentley CAE system for its own future maintenance of the project documentation.

Sweden as Home Market
GEA Liquid Processing continually executes projects in Sweden and is today as much at home in Sweden as in Denmark. GEA Liquid Processing has established a close working relationship with many Swedish sub-suppliers and has its own staff living in Sweden.

GEA Liquid Processing has used several Swedish sub-suppliers for the rebuilding work at Jönköping Dairy, among them ÅF Benima who was entrusted with the entire automation supply, and Systemsvets who carried out all installation work. Commissioning was performed by both Swedish and Danish commissioning engineers.

Customer and Partner
Rebuilding tasks are always a huge challenge due to many unpredictable factors and the demand for the continued operation of the production plant during the rebuilding period. A close and trustful working relationship with the client is absolute vital for success. At Arla Foods’ dairy in Jönköping this process proceeded optimally, and GEA Liquid Processing’ project manager Michael Sørensen says with satisfaction: ”There was this fundamental attitude from both the client’s and the supplier’s side that we were to work together like a team and not work against each other – to obtain a good result and to reach the goal on time”. And Arla Foods’ project manager Ola Allvin adds: ”Rebuilding a dairy in operation is like carrying out a heart operation on a running marathoner. It is only possible with a small, compact team in which there is no doubt about who is doing what”.

“Rebuilding a dairy in operation is like carrying out a heart operation on a running marathoner”

Key Figures of the Project
GEA Liquid Processing extension and rebuilding of Arla Foods’ dairy in Jönköping involved, among other things:
  • Installation of over 1,100 new GEA product valves and instruments
  • Removal of over 500 valves, instruments or agitators/pum¬ps with related programs
  • Rebuilding of existing product tanks
  • Replacement of existing product tanks
  • Connection and integration of 22 filling machines from various suppliers
  • New raw milk silo tanks
  • Extension of 2 CIP plants by bigger tanks and new CIP lines

 
  • New milk and cream pasteurising lines
  • Rebuilding and extension of existing product valve matrices
  • Execution of 7,500 welds – all approved
  • New production servers, complete with process reporting system
  • New controllers, Satt Line Foocos
  • Extension of Ethernet as well as 10 Profibus DP and 52 AS-i
    control network
  • More than 200 control panels, operator stations, MCC panels and valve boxes

Most Important Sub-suppliers

 
Control System:
Electric Hardware and Electric Installation:
Mechanical Installation:
Tanks: 		ÅF Benima, Kalmar, Sweden
KB EL-Teknik, Ry, Denmark
Systemsvets, Norrköping, Sweden
Tankki OY, Ähtäri, Finland