A global marmalade, jam and jelly manufacturer wanted a turnkey process system that would provide a lower labor cost per ton and speed up product changeover times. Terlet Process Systems engineered and installed a turnkey production line with a capacity of 18,000 lb/hr that is operated by only three people.

Terlet Process Systems had the full responsibility of designing and installing a system that would deliver an hourly capacity of 18,000 lb/hr. This hourly capacity needed to include product changeover time. Within a nine-month period, the line was designed, prefab manufactured and installed onsite. Due to the size of the system, the complete installation was lifted through the roof and put in place within a 39 x 33 x 23’ room in three days. After a short installation and test phase, the first production took place within two weeks.

The vertical design uses gravity to transport product, eliminating the use of product pumps. In combination with the fast, specially designed donut cookers from Terlet Process Systems improved the taste, color and particle integrity of the end product.

The process line consists of four premix tanks, two vacuum cookers and fully automated sugar dosing. Small ingredients like citric acid, calcium chloride and pectin are pre-dissolved in a separate unit. The complete line was designed around fruit particle integrity. IQF fruit is lifted up using a bin hoist and product moves down by gravity through each step of the process. The premix vessels have special dynamic agitators and baffles to gently mix and minimize shear. The vacuum cookers do not have agitators and rely on natural convection. The final product is transferred into a horizontal buffer. The unique horizontal agitator keeps the fruit particles in suspension assuring that each jar is filled with the same consistency.

To save energy the clean-in-place (CIP) system reuses 165°F (74°C) warm water from the condenser system. The water is stored and used as pre-rinse water and for cleaning the fruit wagons. The line can be CIP cleaned in different stages, and there are multiple cleaning levels from a simple rinse to a full CIP cycle. Each step is automated, and a full CIP cleaning cycle of the entire line takes approximately 90 minutes.