Installation of a Kettle Chip Line

Premier’s project scope was to install a kettle chip line from raw materials through to packaging, utilizing existing rooms whose infrastructure was not setup for this to happen. Initial site visit was in Dec 2015. After developing several concepts to meet the customer’s needs, final drawings were completed in late 2015. Demolition began the first week of February 2016 and construction started in late February 2016. Final installation was complete June of 2016.

Demolition:

Premier’s crew demo’d over 200cy of concrete, installed over 700lf of drain line, and lowered the production room floor by 18” in order to create enough space for the 4 MOK-300 chip kettles. Our crew cut 6 doorways for access to 6 new oil tanks, demo’d 3 oil tanks, a caustic tank, and a rollup door. They also removed an existing oil tank access building.

Construction:

Installed a new truck dumper which included pouring 25cy of concrete wall, 156cy of concrete pad, and 15cy of concrete for truck approach. Installed a new sump and piped into existing drain line. Installed 5 new floor drains. Poured new floor sloping to new drains. Poured 42cy of concrete for the new potato bin room along with installing 2 new floor drains. Poured 37cy of concrete for the exterior oil tanks. Also poured 24cy of concrete for a 30,000 gallon water tank pad. Installed new doors, handrails and walls. Applied Silikal floor coating to all the newly poured interior concrete floors.

Equipment Installation:

Designed and installed 3 cableveys to carry finished kettle chips from production to the existing packaging area, approximately 420’ away. Installed 6 new horizontal oil tanks, DAF filter, screen assembly and tank, sludge tanks, chemical stands and pump skids. Installed the truck dump system and its hydraulic oil system. Various conveyors, 2 large potato storage bins, platforms, flume, pumps, peelers, 4 kettles, slicers, hoods, stacks, roof repair, waste oil tanks, CIP system and all water, oil, air piping. Installed electrical panels, all equipment control panels, new led lights and all wiring to power up all equipment.

Expansion and Relocation Project

Premier’s project scope was to add a potato chip line to an existing snack plant that the customer had recently purchased. In addition, the current tortilla chip line was to be moved within the plant to another location, which would allow for better access to the packaging equipment. The third project was to add 2 kettle chip fryers and additional raw potato handling equipment in order to get potatoes from the bins to the slicers located and the front of the kettles. The initial concepts for both projects were developed in September of 2014, with final drawings approved in late October of 2014. The line relocation project began in November of 2014 and was completed in Jan 2015. For the new chip line, demolition began in April of 2015 with construction and installation beginning in June of 2015. The total project was completed in the fall of 2015.

Demolition:

Premier’s crew demo’d the area outside the building in order to install a new truck dumper. Wall removals were performed to allow potato handling conveyors to bring the raw potatoes into the plant and the storage bins.

Construction:

Premier installed new drain lines, connecting to 2 new trench drains and a clean out. Applied floor coating, sloping to meet the 2 new drains in the processing area.

Equipment Installation (PC Line):

Premier’s crew installed the truck dumper, raw potato conveyors, six (6) potato storage tanks, access platforms, potato flume, 2 peelers with platform, inclines, slicers and slicer platform, fryer with stack, oil skid and oil tank, heat exchanger. Installed Optisort and both the feeder and discharge conveyors. Installed a 6 position packaging deck with 6 weighers, 6 baggers, 8 FastBacks that form 2 recirculation loops.

Equipment Installation (Kettle Chip Line):

Modified the existing deck in the bin room and added bypass piping to take potatoes from the bins to the kettles. Installed a new chute, product flume, pump reservoir, transfer pump, dewatering hopper and 4 transfer conveyors. Installed 2 MOK 550 kettles with 4 slicers, 2 per kettle, access decking and conveyors to take the chips from the fryer to the already installed packaging deck.

Internal Expansion of Line

Premier’s project scope was to add a kettle chip line in an unused area of the customer’s older plant building. Demolition and construction started in July of 2017 with final project completion in October 2017.

Demolition:

Premier’s crew completely removed the concrete floor in the room and opened a section of the outside wall in order to allow construction equipment, as well as the kettle equipment into the new room.

Construction:

Premier’s team installed a new drain line connecting to 6 new trench drains and clean outs. nstalled a new 6” concrete floor. A concrete retaining wall was built in one corner of the room to house the oil tanks. Floor coating was applied to all aspects of the new floor.

Installation:

Installed new safety showers, drinking fountains, hand wash stations, hot water heaters and steam missing stations. Installed new electrical panels and control panels for the equipment. Installed incline transfer conveyor, flume, sand removal system, rock remover, extraction conveyor, pump reservoir, transfer pump, potato piping, dewatering unit, peeler hopper, peeler stand, batch peeler, incline conveyor, transfer conveyors, slicer conveyors, fryer stacks, thermal fluid heater with stacks, finished chip conveyor, fines and abort conveyor, oil holding tanks and 2 MOK 550 kettle fryers with hoods and stacks. Installed Opti-Sort, conveyors, Salter, packaging platform, 12 conveyors, 2 dust collection systems, 3 scales and 3 baggers. Supplied and installed the peeler platform, slicer platform, washroom platform. Installation also included all water, air and nitrogen piping as well as all electrical connections between equipment.