Dynamic partnership between Arotop and VEMAG ANLAGENBAU

Arotop is a private institute specialising in the food industry. The 70 employees at the institute in Mainz work in the fields of food and environmental analysis, sensory, in the pilot plant for product tests and in further training. The services of the interdisciplinary company cover the entire process chain and incorporate numerous companies, from the subsupplier through to the middlemen and the foodstuff producers. All these market participants are interested in furthering development, and in exchange across the branches. Many food-producing companies take advantage of outsourcing services offered by arotop. This includes the development of new processing technologies for foodstuff which commences with the planning design phase, followed by the draft phase in the adjacent pilot plant. There, the team of product developers comprising experienced foodstuff technologists and chemists work on the development of new processes on behalf of the customers. The pilot plant comprises a complete canteen with all its furnishings and fittings, modern pilot systems for the industrial production of ham and computercontrolled systems for the smoking and curing of raw sausage, raw pickled products and numerous other foodstuffs. The further stages towards market maturity of the products can be worked out in conjunction with the market research, food legislation and marketing departments – all under one roof.

Exhausting synergies
The pilot plant contains installed equipment which – on a smaller scale – comply with industrial standards. To this end, VEMAG ANLAGENBAU supplied the company with two new smoking units for the production of raw sausages, pre-cooked sausages and other meat and sausage products. VEMAG offers system solutions in line with customers’ specification for the thermal treatment of food, in particular for meat. fish and sausage products. The range of products consists of smoking systems, intensive refrigeration and cooking systems, climatic systems and semi-continuous and continuous systems. Customer benefits of the systems are at the forefront of the concept. This explains the company’s commitment displayed by arotop. VEMAG provided the systems in order to benefit from the cooperation with arotop via the reactions of the food experts. The cooperation is based on the understanding that the technological product development demands an adjustment of technology. ”The cooperation is not simply a matter of using the systems: it is about being able to exert an influence on the design of the system,“ says Sebastian Aurich, managing director of arotop food & environment. Hence, both companies work closely together in the field of product development. This starts with market research and continues through the adaptation of the systems to modified requirements through to the product analysis in the laboratory. Product development at arotop involves food whereas at VEMAG it involves the units.

”Naturally, it is in our interest to be the first ones to benefit from experiences gained from arotop’s developments. Depending on the results, we then decide whether we want to integrate these improvements into our standard,“ says Hartmut Harders. The changes resulting from the cooperation can then be implemented as a joint project. ”These chances are decisive for us. Should, during the product development, we realise that the system needs modifying, we inform our partner VEMAG of this. Hence, we benefit from the fact that VEMAG incorporates our ideas, and this means that we have the perfect conditions for product development,“ confirms Sebastian Aurich.

The major advantage of the cooperation is the continuous improvement to the product quality. ”Once we have developed our systems, we obtain assurance from the experts at arotop. Conversely, arotop carries out product development in the field of foods, and we at VEMAG discuss these developments with our partners from industry in order to find out whether they are at all relevant and if they can be implemented on an industrial scale. The cooperation also means that we stay up-to-date with the world of spices and additives, and how this development affects the production process,“ explains Hartmut Harders. This means that the food lab in Mainz also receives feedback from the manufacturers. Arotop, on the other hand, offers the manufacturers the chance to analyse the products and to scientifically document the improvements. This dynamism helps both companies to work out new approaches. ”This enables us to determine whether the products manufactured under laboratory conditions can also be manufactured on an industrial scale at the same quality,“ says Sebastian Aurich.

Customer benefits
It is essential for the producers of food to be able to produce a first-class product. ”During the development of our systems, our main consideration is the benefits the systems have for our customers,“ says Harmut Harders. ”We wish to give the customers the chance to easily produce innovative products“. VEMAG and arotop are also planning to host seminars for their customers in the future. The idea behind this is to consolidate and intensify the exchange of information and to promote the development of new ideas. ast