Grundfos sanitary pumps handle media with high viscosity

Nordzucker, based in Nordstemmen, Germany, is a leading producer of sugar and a supplier of natural sweeteners. Their core business includes extraction and processing of sugar for the food industry as well as a wide variety of sugar products for the retail industries and for household use.

The Situation
Before Nordzucker discovered Grundfos’ sanitary pumps, which are designed by Hilge, they were experiencing various problems, primarily due to the high viscosity of the sugar, which made it complex to process.
Nordzucker was looking to improve several parts of their sugar process, e.g. the process in which the liquid sugar was transferred through the system, the evaporation process throughout production, risk of crystallisation in the shaft seal due to the thickness
of the sugar, etc.

The Grundfos Solution
With Grundfos’ certified, sanitary, stainless steel product range, they were capable of helping Nordzucker ease the amount of problems they were experiencing throughout production.
Apart from the fact that the Grundfos sanitary pumps are highly reliable and repair and service-friendly, Nordzucker strongly appreciated the unique hygienic design used, which would help reduce the time spent on cleaning. Furthermore, the mechanical sealing system available was valuable in order to ensure lubrication, cooling and CIP-capability.

The Outcome
Today, 80% of the pumps for liquid sugar at Nordzucker are Grundfos sanitary pumps, such as Euro-HYGIA®., Contra, MAXANA and SIPLA, which now all play an important part in the daily processes carried out at Nordzucker.

Nordzucker’s technical manager Johannes Henze comments, “The downtime has been reduced signifi cantly and we are very pleased with our Grundfos pumps. Their service is fast and they are great at proposing solutions that fulfi l our needs in the best way. Our experience tells us that compared with other pump suppliers Grundfos pumps have a higher quality in terms of efficiency, reliability and repair and service-friendliness.