A hair salon products company has doubled capacity thanks to a cost efficient agitator upgrade. Herb UK and Ekato talk to SPC about their positive experience
With less finance available, the ability to fund new equipment that delivers an increase in production capacity has caused issues for many producers. Novel solutions that significantly raise capacity with minimal capital outlay are therefore increasingly appealing to cosmetics producers. If the process hardware changes are also able to solve other challenges and further support a firm’s sustainability and environmental messages, then the opportunity is compelling. The experience of the UK’s largest own brand manufacturer of hair products suggests that through close cooperation and using the expertise of a leading agitator producer, effective sourcing can do just that with capacity increases of 50% achievable.
Since its foundation in 1990 Herb UK Ltd has manufactured a range of hair products designed to be safer for hairdressers to use than traditional ammonia-based colours. New product development and a clear differentiation from global producers meant demand for their product was growing significantly and by mid 2009 the firm needed to solve its capacity issues.
Growing Demand
The firm was using a two tonne vessel to manufacture shampoos and cream peroxides. It was the former that was creating the headaches. “Our shampoo was taking three days to mix and is the most challenging product to produce,” says Mark D’Arcy, Herb UK’s operations manager. “Our existing mixing equipment with large blade impellers was leaving too much air in the product, causing delays at the bottling stage.” The firm experimented with recirculation pumps but the increased power consumption, product aeration and inconsistent results were unattractive to the environmentally and product quality conscious firm. An upcoming product relaunch with new bottles was predicted to push sales even further and the company needed to be ready to fulfil demand. “We also looked at changing the parameters of the product,” adds Herb UK’s marketing manager Elaine Warriner. “We looked at changing the specifications such as SG but ideally wanted to retain the features our customers like.”
In late 2009, during a cosmetics industry show, Herb UK met EKATO Mixing Technology Ltd. Since 1933 EKATO has been developing mixing technologies for a range of industries including cosmetics.
Thriving on innovation, EKATO has the ability to accurately simulate mixing performance using scale models. A three litre model process can reproduce the process of a 4000 litre vessel, helping plant engineers to trial new concepts before committing fully to hardware. EKATO also offers the opportunity to optimise existing plant equipment with agitator, impeller or complete system upgrades and this experience provided the starting point for the Herb UK manufacturing development.
Custom Solution
EKATO was able to specify a custom agitator with versatile Viscoprop impellers which allowed the existing vessel to be retained. “This was crucial for us,” continues D’Arcy. “We wanted to keep the original ‘Tank One’ hardware. Capital investment is lower and factory disruption was minimised.” According to EKATO, the patented Viscoprop impellers are frequently the answer in demanding process conditions such as these. “They can make it possible to combine previously separate process steps in a single vessel, reducing cost.” For the cosmetics market, non-ferretic steels and polished surfaces are used. “We construct the impeller in single pieces to eliminate crevices that are difficult to clean which reduces in tank hardware,” adds EKATO UK md John Smith.
EKATO’s proposed EM-based solution offers Herb UK variable speed which helps to mix all elements, ‘pumping’ liquids off the floor of the vessel and distributing them evenly through the batch.
Time savings
The results achieved from the new agitator immediately impressed Herb UK and from the outset opened up capacity. “We have been able to reduce process time by 50%,” says factory manager Brian Crouch. “This has allowed us to achieve a volume for this tank of 100,000 tonnes per manufacturing year. In addition, the new process is removing much of the air, reducing bottling time and the need for the recirculation pump.” Lowering the batch and bottling time has equally allowed the firm to adopt leaner work in progress and raw materials. The bottom line is a better bottom line. “We have calculated we are using significantly less electricity which reduces our costs,” adds D’Arcy.
The multi-stage Viscoprop solution also helped solve another issue. Correcting the pH value is normally done by adding an adjuster at the end of the process, but being thinner and lighter this tended to float on the liquid surface. EKATO’s powerful multistage impellers distribute the adjuster through the entire batch, resulting in better consistency from the top to the bottom of the vessel.
The new Viscoprop impellers are helping to improve the process in other ways that weren’t expected. “The new impellers are much smaller,” says Crouch, “which makes the tank more accessible for removing the product and the shorter cleaning process reduces changeover times.” Rigorous hygiene is crucial for the products which are 100% micro-tested before being shipped to the customer. “We currently fall under cosmetic standards but the trend is going towards medical standards,” says Crouch. “We want to be ready.”
Herb UK is already talking to EKATO about optimising additional vessels. “We achieved what we wanted to do with Tank One,” says D’Arcy. “The customer support is second to none and is keeping us ahead of the competition who are finally realising that natural products can work in the salon.”
