Client Success
Continuous Improvement
Results In Nearly 400,000 lbs Additional Product for SaleFinancial Impact: >$395,000
People
Cross-functional team created to empower high-impact decisions tied to plant goals
Planet
Reduced cleaning surfactant usage by 25% and rinse water by 15%
Profit
Identified opportunities to improve protein yield by 354,000 lb/year
Improved brine UF productivity by 20% resulting in improved cheese quality and reduced brine waste disposal costs
The Challenge
A Californian whey processor sought Solecta’s help to meet plant goals and continuous improvement (CI) objectives around yield and quality.
- Whey protein concentrate yield variability resulted in inconsistent financial performance
- Shortage of capacity in the cheese brine UF system jeopardized quality standards
The Solution
Working with the client, the team:
- Established operational parameters for protein yield to define membrane performance Retrofitted brine UF system with a high productivity membrane solution to decrease turn-over time
- Audited existing cleaning processes and identified opportunity to decrease volumes of both a high-cost CIP chemical and associated rinse water
The Overall Impact
The Client has made significant progress in achieving CI goals, realizing more than $395,000 through increased WPC yields and improvements in cheese quality.