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Project Gallery | Food and Beverage
Every project has a unique set of challenges and objectives, including scope, budget, time frame, regulatory requirements and more. MAVERICK addresses each concern in developing custom solutions that meet each client's needs. We offer extensive services and expertise in the food and beverage industry. Learn more …
Completed Projects
- Major Dairy Manufacturers Go Paperless Tracking CIP Data
MAVERICK’s CIP (Clean in Place) reporting system is successfully implemented and utilized by key
stakeholders at major dairy manufacturers.
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- Product Manufacturers Easily Optimize CIP Systems
MAVERICK upgrades CIP (Clean in Place) systems and provides CIP editing software which allows
easy management and optimization of CIP operations.
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- Leading Food Manufacturer Plans Plant Expansions
A leader in authentic and premium food and beverage brands, including extended shelf life (ESL),
organic, natural and indulgent favorites, partnered with MAVERICK to baseline current plant
operations and develop a plan for upcoming plant expansions.
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- New Capabilities for an Established Food & Beverage System
An international beverage manufacturer needed to add fruit juice processing capabilities to
an existing carbonated beverage facility. They required a Control System and Manufacturing
Execution System to monitor and supervise this fully automated batch process.
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- Supply Chain Solution for a Food Manufacturer
A major poultry manufacturer sought dramatic enhancements in its supply chain to help
develop unbreakable client relationships.
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- Major Producer of Soy Protein Seeks to Retain Competitive
Edge by Streamlining Business Processes and Improving data
Availability “from the Plant Floor to the Boardroom.”
A global leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high-quality soy ingredients realized that
in order to respond to stiffening competition, its business processes needed the agility to provide
the right information to the right people at the right time. “We need IT tools that allow us to
analyze information and make timely decisions, versus chasing data and debating,” a company
representative said.
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- Winery Instrument Calibration and Project Execution
The client needed to develop an instrumentation calibration and startup plan for 150 analog and 740 discrete devices. To meet an
extremely aggressive project schedule, the calibration effort required coordination with the client’s process planning group. Document control procedures
also needed to be established to enable timely and accurate instrumentation maintenance and troubleshooting.
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- Control System Replacement and Upgrade
The client needed to replace an obsolete PLC system with up-to-date hardware to increase supportability of the system. Additional solutions
were needed to reduce downtime caused by equipment failures.
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- Improving Efficiency in Beverage Packing
The client needed multiple solutions to increase efficiency in operations and production in its packaging plant. In addition, it sought to
alleviate increasing expenditures in the areas of labor and packaging material.
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- Rapid Growth Necessitates New Strategy for Pet Food Flavoring Manufacturer
A leading manufacturer of nutritional pet food enhancements and palatables (flavorings) experienced rapid growth as a result of increased
marketing efforts. This escalated demand identified serious capacity constraints at the primary manufacturing and distribution facility.
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- Manufacturers Utilize Auditing Techniques to Improve Beverage Packaging Efficiency
Many manufacturers aim to improve operational efficiencies of beverage packaging, utilizing fundamental auditing techniques with a team of technical and operational veterans. Their goal is to generate bottom-line cost savings of operational beverage packaging by reducing equipment outages and material waste and improving system throughput. The fundamental means and methods are integrated with physical equipment assessments, machine downtime audits, production team interviews, root cause analysis, audit team observations and equipment line balancing.
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- Brewhouse Automation
MAVERICK performed detailed P&ID development, control narrative definition, E&I design, PLC
and HMI configuration, simulation and checkout / startup services, as required, to automate an
existing brewing facility and increase its quality and capacity. The project involved multiple process
areas, including grain and malt unloading and storage, cooker, mash tun, mash filters, brew
kettle and hot wort transfer systems. The system used a Siemens / TI 545 processor tied to a
Wonderware HMI for operator interface and control. The system also utilized an Access database
to store brew scheduling, recipe and batch reporting data. The brew schedule information was
modified by the supervisory personnel and was used by the Wonderware system to retrieve and
populate the PLC with the proper recipe data at the beginning of each brew. Wonderware also
monitored specific events during the brew and automatically populated the brew log data that
would then be used to produce batch end reports.
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- Brewhouse Automation Upgrade
MAVERICK provided control engineering and E&I design to automate the brewhouse and
associated processes using the latest proven technology and corporate standards. The project
required a significant amount of E&I design, PLC and GUI programming to provide an operator-friendly, fully functional system. The backbone of the control system was an Allen-Bradley
PLC 5/80E and USData FactoryLink. Coordination between E&I design, programming and checkout
were key to the success of the project.
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- Fermenting Cellar Automation Upgrade
MAVERICK provided control engineering and E&I design to automate the fermenting cellar and
associated processes for a major brewery using the latest proven technology and corporate
standards. The project required a significant amount of E&I design, PLC and GUI programming
to provide an operator-friendly, fully functional system. The backbone of the control system
was an Allen-Bradley PLC 5/80E and USData FactoryLink. Coordination between E&I design,
programming and checkout were key to the success of the project.
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- Fermentor Upgrade
MAVERICK provided E&I and control engineering to retrofit a relay-based control architecture
into a PLC processor and GUI-based control system. Similar to the aforementioned brewhouse
and fermenting cellar projects, this project added coordination with electrical construction to
our list of services.
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- Inventory Tracking
MAVERICK provided control engineering to develop and implement an inventory tracking system
for a 144-vessel storage system. Using an Allen-Bradley PLC 5/80E processor and USData
FactoryLink MAVERICK developed a SCADA system, which monitored multiple process attributes
for each vessel. The sequential control included monitoring the fill, aging and release of each
vessel. A combination of operator entry and inter-processor communication would populate the
processor data table. MAVERICK also coordinated activities with the client’s information system (IS)
group to aid in the establishment of a plant-wide quality control system.
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- Clean-In-Place (CIP) System Implementation
Many areas within a process require cleaning and sanitizing a system without dismantling the
process piping. To achieve this, MAVERICK worked alongside the client to design and implement
CIP systems. Process mechanical engineering is required to ensure proper cleaning of tanks,
manifolds and other process equipment. Control loops for temperature and flow are necessary
to ensure proper cleaning.
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- HAZOP Piping and Instrumentation Design
MAVERICK provided mechanical and electrical design chiller HAZOP upgrades. Project
components included field walkdowns and preparation of CAD piping isometric drawings.
Electrical installation packages were prepared for level switches and cut-off valves for
glycol chillers, kathene chillers, fass beer coolers and ammonia systems.
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- Fermentor Yeast Recovery System
MAVERICK provided mechanical, electrical and controls engineering for installation of a new
yeast recovery system on multiple fermentors. New pumps, valve sets, mass flow meters
and variable frequency controllers were specified, installed and integrated into the plant
control system. The project included preparation of installation bid packages and the coordination
of contractor activities with other corporate engineering construction projects.
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- Case Conveying / Palletizing Debottlenecking
MAVERICK analyzed the design of existing case conveying and palletizing systems for food and
soap manufacturing facilities. The project goal was to determine rate limitations and root
causes for bottlenecks. To achieve this, MAVERICK recommended and executed modifications
to achieve higher production rates.
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- Bakery Plant Process Improvements
MAVERICK provided process improvement solutions for several existing bakeries involving
solid and liquid ingredients and conveying of dough. This involved the specification of mixer
modifications and the field supervision over the installation of sanitary product conveyors
and cartoning equipment. MAVERICK performed bakery and proofing oven heat transfer and
airflow analyses and developed and implemented design recommendations to optimize the
baking processes and improve product quality.
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- Brewery Stockhouse Modifications
MAVERICK assisted with the identification and development of process modifications to beer
finishing operations to reduce utilities costs, increase capacity and improve product quality.
Front-end engineering included initial evaluation of existing pumps, tanks, piping and other
major equipment for modification. Detailed capital, expense and dismantling estimates were
prepared for funding requests for presentation to the client’s senior management.
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- Counter Product Display
MAVERICK executed the specification, design, development and implementation of counter
displays for retail sales. The project included material supplier coordination, fabrication of prototypes
for plant testing, equipment modifications and project management.
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- Case Packing Multi-Pack Line Installation
MAVERICK developed equipment and packaging specifications for a combination packaging
line capable of filling both cartons and bags. MAVERICK performed equipment purchasing,
vendor coordination, line layout, installation and startup.
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- Packaging Line Optimization
MAVERICK provided project engineering services to increase existing packaging line to placard
capacity. Detailed production process analysis was performed to determine critical equipment
limitations. An implementation strategy was developed and executed, resulting in minimized
expense and production downtime.
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- Packaging Training
MAVERICK developed a packaging training program and provided on-site operator training.
Operators were trained to better understand cause and effect of changes made to
various parts of a packaging line. Curriculum focused on impact of process variables, including
bag deflation, cutoff lengths, fill, line speeds, heat seal temperature and humidity, and on-case
packaging efficiency.
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- Stand-Up Resealable Zipper Bag Conversion
MAVERICK developed and implemented a packaging line conversion from standard bulk product
bags to stand-up resealable zipper bags. The project definition included equipment specifications,
existing equipment modifications, bag sizing, case sizing, project estimating, and budgeting and
coordination with plant personnel.
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- Bag Resizing / Standardization Program
MAVERICK participated in a corporate team to standardize bag sizes for current product mix. The
project involved the assessment of product density variations, settling and packaging weights, as
well as market focus to develop the most cost-effective mix of package needs. The client realized
cost savings through the consolidation of film roll widths, forming tube sizes and case sizes.
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- 38 MM Product Application
MAVERICK provided controls integration to guide the design in applying 38MM products on a
KHS "turn-key" bottle line in a major brewery. This involved the coordination of various vendors
and contractors to successfully apply four new bottle styles. MAVERICK's duties expanded into
the areas of owner representative for project management, construction management and
mechanical engineering.
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- Can Line Efficiency Initiative
MAVERICK was contracted to perform efficiency audits of a major beverage manufacturer’s
high-speed can lines, with a goal to improve the productivity from the mid-50 percent range to
a repeatable 85 percent. Recommended productivity improvements included production
scheduling, resource planning, quality control, safety-first operations, machinery alterations,
preventive maintenance, warehousing utilization, material specification compliance and
operations team training.
MAVERICK used several applied engineering tools, including a filler downtime study, machine center audits, cause and effect analysis, line balancing evaluation (standards vs. actual), user group effective machinery utilization and preventive maintenance program implementation.
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- Facility Consolidation
MAVERICK provided project management services in the areas of controls integration to guide
the design of consolidating three existing beverage manufacturing facilities into one new
integrated facility. The program responsibilities included owner representation while directing
machine vendors, process and packaging design firms, and a major construction firm.
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- Packaging Line Modifications
MAVERICK modified an existing high-speed can line resulting in an increase in the operational
efficiency from 58 percent to 72 percent. The project included the alteration to a Wyard can depalletizer,
a new air single-filer for the empty can system and a new case conveyor for the full case system.
MAVERICK provided a successful “turn-key” startup, which was on schedule and within budget.
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- Full Case System Redesign
MAVERICK modified an existing high-speed can line full case system by redesigning the
conveyance system. Project components included the application of required conveyor
styles, recalculating transportation speeds, replacement of failing motors and application of
the required controls. These changes resulted in a line efficiency change from the mid-60 percent
range to a repeatable 90 percent average.
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- Project Management Services for a Major Beverage Manufacturer
MAVERICK provided project management services to implement the corrective solutions
recommended in a can line initiative project. The project succeeded through continuous
monitoring of the progress schedule and rigid reinforcement of team member commitments.
MAVERICK managed a major construction firm’s compliance to project requirements and
provided a weekly interface with the production team to provide continuous focus on tasks,
ensuring successful completion of all recommendations.
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- Two-Stage Pasteurization
MAVERICK provided project management services for the installation of a two-stage pasteurizer
on a major food and beverage manufacturing facility’s lines. Services included coordination of
design, contractors, installation, training and startup. Project components included installation
of required utility infrastructure systems, coordination of design to integrate existing process
and CIP systems with new pasteurizers.
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- VFFS Packaging Line
MAVERICK completed an $8 million scaling / packaging line installation for a major brand name
of snack party mix. The initiative resulted in a savings of $250K, and increased capacity.
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- Case Packer Installation
MAVERICK facilitated a $2.75 million expansion of nine automated case packing lines for frozen waffles, helping facilitate cost savings and significantly increasing capacity within the first year.
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- Automated Frozen Fish Portioning
MAVERICK installed a $2 million automation frozen fish portioning system, resulting in savings realized through reduced product loss and labor savings.
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- Brand-Name Soup Line Mass Balance Study
MAVERICK conducted a cost reduction study involving the mass balance of ingredient usage, similarities and equipment design rates to actual rates and production costs related to runtime vs. downtime.
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- Frozen Burrito Packaging Automation Study
MAVERICK conducted a project study to define equipment requirements and costs associated with the automation of tray packing and case packing of frozen burritos.
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- Tamper-Evident Banding Project
MAVERICK conducted a $250K project to investigate and purchase equipment capable of applying a tamper-evident band to the tub lid for whipped topping bowls at a rate of 200 per minute.
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- Mini Muffins Line
MAVERICK defined process requirements for production of the first mini muffin line. Duties
included process definition for mixing, depositing, conveying, baking, de-panning and packaging.
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- Cereal Expansion
MAVERICK added 10 new cereal cookers, roll lines, pneumatic systems, live bottom storage bins, dryers and packaging lines, resulting in increased production of brand-name cereals.
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- Toaster Pastry Cooling Conveyor
MAVERICK supervised the installation of process conveyors to improve orientation of toaster pastries delivered to packaging.
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- 8-Count Size Change
MAVERICK supervised and expedited changeover of multiple carton machines for new carton sizes for a major food manufacturer.
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- Pallet Handling Analysis
MAVERICK analyzed a pallet conveying system with multiple packaging line inputs. Additionally,
MAVERICK reviewed fork truck transportation procedures to determine pallet handling limitations.
Recommendations were made to improve movement of palletized product through the warehouse.
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- Dough Handling Improvements
MAVERICK provided process conveying and pumping designs for stiff pie dough, cookie
dough and biscuit dough. Designs included equipment to divide dough and eliminate a
manual operation prior to the sheet roller, improve dough elevator / dumpers and provide
new conveying methods to transport dough to relocated packaging machines.
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- Ingredient Metering
MAVERICK analyzed process piping to determine delivery capability of existing vegetable oil and corn syrup systems to new dough mixer for a major food manufacturer.
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- Automated Display Pallet Installation
MAVERICK provided project management services, including coordination of contractors,
installation, training and startup for a new automated multi-product, multi-package mixed
pallet system. This system disassembled pallets of cases containing individual flavors and
combined flavor mixtures onto one pallet automatically. The equipment included
a gantry-type robot, a descrambling table, multiple lanes of conveyor containing different
flavors and a palletizer to combine the different flavors onto one pallet.
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- Flour Additions
MAVERICK reviewed the design of the existing flour pneumatic conveying system and recommended modifications to add delivery points for new mixers.
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- Line #7 Case Packer Installation
MAVERICK provided project development support in the areas of vendor and plant coordination, development of materials checklist for package sizes and case pack patterns, installation and startup support.
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- Line #4 Automated Case Packing Project
MAVERICK worked with a major food manufacturer to develop the best overall layout of a new
line, paying attention to costs and equipment restraints and needs. The solution involved the
development of an overall packaging matrix of the line to define case pack patterns, rates and
additional case sizing requirements. MAVERICK also coordinated the scheduling requirements
for equipment deliveries with equipment vendors, and assisted with line startup.
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- Stand-up Pouch Projects
MAVERICK conducted cost analysis and capability studies with current products to determine feasibility of new packaging opportunities in stand-up pouches.
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- Packaging Materials Support
MAVERICK worked in a supporting role to develop new bag, carton and corrugated case sizes for a
major food manufacturer. As part of the product, new specifications for packaging component
changes to plants and suppliers were initiated. To ensure success, new package designs were
developed, initiated and tested at various plant facilities prior to use across all plants.
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- Process and Equipment Requirements
MAVERICK developed the process and equipment requirements for initial installation for production of brand-name biscuits.
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- Bulk Silo Modification
MAVERICK conducted a $250K modification project to modify an existing flour mixing system, add a new bulk silo and alter a pneumatic conveyance system.
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- Case Conveyor Review
MAVERICK analyzed the existing case conveyor and palletizing system to determine rate limitations, and recommended system changes to maximize performance for a major detergent manufacturer.
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- 55-Gallon Drum Filling Project
MAVERICK designed and specified equipment for multi-rate pumping and delivery of oil
additives — with varying viscosities — from railcars and trucks to a 55-gallon drum filling
system. The delivery system included pigging equipment for clean-in-place procedures
and steam supply lines for flushing the pump / piping system and heating railcar.
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- Case Conveying / Palletizing Debottlenecking
MAVERICK analyzed the design of existing case conveying and palletizing systems of food and
soap manufacturing facilities to determine rate limitations and root causes for bottlenecks.
Recommendations were made and executed upon, resulting in higher production rates.
Learn more …
- Bakery Plant Process Improvements
MAVERICK provided process improvement solutions for several existing bakeries. The project
involved solid and liquid ingredients and conveying of dough. MAVERICK modified mixers and
provided field supervision of the installation of sanitary product conveyors and cartoning
equipment. Additionally, bakery and proofing oven heat transfer and airflow analyses were
performed and design recommendations were developed and implemented, optimizing the
baking processes and improving product quality.
Learn more …
- Brewery Stockhouse Process Modifications
MAVERICK assisted with the identification and development of process modifications to beer
finishing operations, with the goal of reducing utilities costs, increasing capacity and improving
product quality. Process flow diagrams, piping and instrument diagrams, and process modification
narratives were developed. Additionally, detailed capital, expense and dismantling estimates
were prepared to assist with funding request presentations to the client’s senior management.
Learn more …
- Fermentation Vessel Cooling and Mixing Enhancements
MAVERICK utilized computational fluid dynamics methods to evaluate fluid flow, heat transfer
and biological reaction kinetics within various fermentation vessel designs. Analyses included
vessel filling / draining, aeration, pitching schemes and cooling strategies to identify sensor
placement, reduce fermentation times and increase product repeatability.
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- Automatic Cleanup
MAVERICK provided the engineering for a juice room automatic cleanup system. The project
included Allen-Bradley PLC 5 programming, checkout and startup services.
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- Evaporation Controls
MAVERICK provided total project services, including design engineering, systems engineering,
construction / installation services and panel fabrication for an evaporator system. The project
included design engineering, Allen-Bradley PLC programming, Wonderware HMI development,
panel fabrication, installation, checkout and startup services.
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- Extraction System
MAVERICK provided total project services, including design engineering, systems engineering,
construction / installation services, panel fabrication and maintenance technicians to control
a juice extraction line. The project was fast-tracked with a start-to-finish time of eight weeks.
It included configuration of a Foxboro I/A system using three redundant control processors
(CPs), one AW51 console, one WP station and one X-Windows PC station. Field and node buses
consisted of redundant fiber optics cabling. Approximately 450 points of control included fruit
conveying and counting, 24 FMC extractors, three FMC primary finishers, FMC pulp washing
finishers, oil recovery and automatic caustic cleanup systems. Variable speed drives were
employed on most pumps and all extractors. MAVERICK provided connection drawings to
MAVERICK construction electricians who installed conduit, routed and connected wire and fiber
cables and assisted in checkout with MAVERICK engineers. The MAVERICK fabrication shop
provided emergency stop, fuse and marshalling panels. After startup, MAVERICK’s advanced
technical services provided a trained technician to maintain the system for three months.
This technician was trained on the Foxboro I/A system, including graphics, configuration
and hardware troubleshooting. The system is the first control system of its kind in the juice
extraction industry using DCS technology with total processor and network redundancy.
Extensive user-friendly graphics were developed to monitor and control a fully automated
process which determines sizes of fruit, distribution to extractors, speed of extraction, oil
recovery, juice and pulp quality, yield maximization and complete cleanup.
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- Glycol-Refrigerated Pasteurizer
MAVERICK performed the engineering for one pasteurizer. The project included design
engineering, Foxboro I/A configuration and system checkout, and startup on a glycol-refrigerated
pasteurizer.
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- Glycol-Refrigerated Pasteurizer II
MAVERICK performed the engineering for one pasteurizer. The project included design
engineering, Allen-Bradley PLC Programming, Wonderware HMI development and system
checkout and startup on a glycol-refrigerated pasteurizer.
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- Packaging System
MAVERICK performed the engineering for a Shoalie Packaging system for NFC. The project
included design engineering, Allen-Bradley PLC programming, Wonderware HMI development,
and system checkout and startup.
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- Total Line Conversion to High-Gloss Cartons
MAVERICK assisted a plant team to perform a total packaging line conversion to high-gloss
cartons. MAVERICK evaluated the entire packaging line to identify critical problem areas and
developed custom modifications to facilitate production with the new carton. The new carton is now being tested through all pieces of equipment in the packaging line.
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- Development and Integration of Custom Applications to an Aseptic and Refrigeration Control System
This project required connecting an Allen-Bradley PLC 5/40 to 260 field I/Os for an aseptic and refrigeration control system. Ten Wonderware screens were
developed for operator interface functionality. MAVERICK developed custom application interfaces to barcode readers and an external database application using
Visual Basic and SQL.
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- Quick Turnaround Total Project Service for Juice Extraction Line
MAVERICK provided total project services, including design engineering, systems engineering, construction / installation services, panel fabrication and
maintenance technicians to control a juice extraction line. The project included configuration of a Foxboro I/A system using three redundant control processors (CPs), one AW51 console, one WP station and one X-Windows PC station. The field and node buses consisted of redundant fiber optics cabling. Approximately 450 I/O
included fruit conveying and counting, 24 extractors, three primary finishers, pulp-washing finishers, oil recovery and automatic caustic cleanup systems. The
project was fast-tracked with a start-to-finish time of eight weeks.
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