Siemens - Process Instrumentation and Analytics

Changing demographics, new consumer tastes, quality expectations, evolving regulation and price constraints threaten food and beverage sector profit margins.

Concerns about food safety are always present, whilst the need for faster and more flexible supply lines is intensifying. Product tracking and tracing are becoming increasingly important, and with the right automation companies can turn competition and pressure to their advantage.

Process automation

Whatever your sector of the market, you can be assured that Siemens' process automation products will help you meet your business and customer goals. Benefits include:

• Fast commissioning
• Short ramp-up times
• Low total cost-of-ownership
• Quick return on investment
• Innovative service and support concepts
• Traceability to ensure manufacturing quality
• Maximum compatibility and innovation

Siemens offers the most comprehensive product range for the food and beverage industry and has a solution for even the most difficult measurements.

Level measurement

The quality of food and beverage products relies on precise and accurate level measurements that ensure exactitude in process controls, overflow prevention and protection against dry-running pumps. Such criteria are also used to balance and check stocks of raw materials, semi-finished products and finished goods.

Our level measurement products include:

• Echomax ultrasonic transducers with Sitrans LU and MultiRanger ultrasonic transceivers
• Sitrans LR 200/250/400 (radar level measurement for liquids)
• Sitrans LR 260/460 (radar level measurement for solids)

Flow measurement

Storage, pumping, and dosing all require highly accurate flow measurement, and our flow measurement products can provide quality assurance and product consistency. They also ensure compliance with environmental regulation and food safety.

Our flow measurement products include:

• Sitrans FM Magflo (magnetic-inductive flowmeter)
• Sitrans FC Massflo (mass flowmeter)
• Sitrans FUS Sonoflo and Clamp-on (ultrasonic flowmeter)

Pressure measurement

Pressure measurement is vital at food production plants. Besides measuring pressure for process control purposes or for safety, our pressure measuring instruments can be used to measure differential pressure (filtration and heating processes) and deduced measured values, like flow and level, and to determine parameters such as the extract content.

Temperature measurement

Temperature is one of the most important parameters of all in the food manufacturing process – both for safety, and process control and quality. Food safety methodologies, such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), highlight the importance of both accurate temperature measurement and its data capture.

Valve positioning

Valve positioners play an important role in the storage, pumping and mixing of liquids for food and beverage production. Our valve positioners enables the precise control of a valve, providing the added benefit of a diagnostic capability.

Amongst our products for pressure measurement, temperature measurement and valve positioning are:

• Sitrans P300 (pressure transmitter)
• Sitrans T (resistance thermometer)
• Sipart PS2 (valve positioner)

Weighing and process protection

Weighing, blending and dosing are of significant importance to the food and beverage industry. Our highly accurate and automated systems ensure the compliance of the filling process and packaging of food products with the strict quality and hygiene regulations.

Siemens' weighing and process protection product solutions include:

• Milltronics weighfeeder 600 series (low to medium-capacity weighfeeder)
• Siwarex (weighing system)

Gas analytics

Fulfilment of environmental standards is a vital task in the food and beverage production, and so emissions can be controlled carefully by products such as our:

• Ultramat 6 (high-end gas analyser)
• Ultramat 23 (continuous gas analyser)

Industrial communication

Industrial communication is key to realising a demand-driven supply chain, increased efficiency or optimised time-to-market. As Siemens bundles different solutions with Simatic NET, the customer's requirements are always met in the optimal fashion.

Sense organ sensors

Simatic sensors represent the sense organs for machines and systems that run automated production processes. The importance of sensor technology grows steadily as production processes become increasingly complex and process safety requirements continue to multiply.

Siemens' sense organ sensors offer you a complete portfolio of proven and innovative products and systems, from proximity switches to RFID systems and image processing systems. Our products are highly competitive in terms of price, performance and functionality.

Market applications

Our products are especially useful for the competitive sugar processing, milk, brewing and soft drinks markets.