When 1,000 Hands Produce Quality

To make its production more sustainable, in 2020, the family-managed company went in search of an air purification system for its hot-smoking systems that offers optimal heat recovery. Bedford didn’t have to look very far, ultimately selecting the CLEENjet® TNV-3000 thermal oxidizer in combination with the WRG-3000 heat recovery system from Borgholzhausen, just 45 km away. “Schröter’s solution is ideal for us, as it can be fully installed in an outdoor, weatherproof container,” says Reinhard Rolf, Head of Technology at Bedford GmbH. “Thanks to heat recovery, we can put the TNV’s waste heat to good use for heating water. The hot water is then pumped into a 5 m³ central process water storage tank.”

In May 2021, the company invested in four systems, each for one smoking trolley. The aim is to cool Bedford’s salami to –5°C at the core – with a room temperature as low as –10°C. These unique conditions proved to be quite a challenge for Schröter project engineer Reza Boozari, as the system needs to operate reliably at very low ambient temperatures. The doors must open and close effortlessly without freezing to the frame, an issue solved by Boozari with a heated door frame. The systems were also equipped with a safety flap to compensate for negative pressure at low temperatures. Even the floor had to be updated to accommodate future forklift traffic.

In the meantime, the maturing process of high-quality salami specialties has been taken over by a Schröter climatic raw sausage system. In June 2021, the company opted for the multichannel system with four rows, which holds 32 smoking trolleys. “The best thing about this system is the fact that it’s  heated with hot water, which means we can  effectively utilize the surplus heat of the TNV thermal oxidizer by means of hot water heat recovery,” explains Helmut Lange, Deputy Workshop Manager at Bedford. The CLIMAjet® system operates with horizontal and vertical airflow (MAS), allowing delicacies to mature gently and evenly. The user can choose from a wide variety of airflow variants to ensure optimal results. It was important to the Bedford staff that the new process produces uniform, identical product results, and that’s precisely what the multiple airflow channel system (MAS) guarantees. This successful collaboration is a prime example of the tailored support our team provides, the engineers’ outstanding problem-solving expertise, and optimization of entire production processes on behalf of our customers. “We are very happy with the service and support we receive from the company Schröter,” explains Helmut Lange, Deputy Workshop Manager at Bedford. We’re already looking forward to the next project with Bedford.