Shaping the future of coffee: PROBAT at interpack 2023
Emmerich, Germany, March 8, 2023: The first hydrogen Px 120 drum roaster, electrical shop roasters, the PILOT 2020 Suite, and intelligent sensor technology: For PROBAT, everything revolves around digitalization and sustainability at interpack in Düsseldorf from May 4-10. At the international trade show for the packaging and related process industries, the world market and technology leader shares a stand with Hamburg Dresdner Maschinenfabriken ‒ also a member of the PROBAT Group and an expert in cocoa and chocolate processing technology. Together, the two companies showcase their leading-edge solutions at the joint booth No. B14 in hall 3.
PROBAT CEO Wim Abbing is excited to be back when the industry meets in Düsseldorf to discuss trends and innovations in coffee processing: “As market and technology leader, we claim to lead the way. With the intelligent and sustainable solutions we present at our interpack booth, we are already providing the answers to tomorrow's questions today, thus helping our customers to stay one step ahead in the market.”
Sustainable innovations
New regulations and a growing sense of environmental responsibility have caused a sharp rise in the demand for alternatives to fossil fuel use in roasting machines. Where direct electrification is not possible, for PROBAT, hydrogen is the energy source of choice. The company successfully launched a hydrogen P05 shop roaster during the CONNECTING MARKETS symposium in September last year, triggering enthusiastic reactions among the numerous guests who tasted hydrogen coffee which has no difference in taste from conventionally roasted coffee.
“As the technology leader, PROBAT spearheads the coffee sector, introducing innovations to the market, such as hydrogen power in commercial coffee roasting”, explains Stefan Ripkens, Head of Technical Engineering at PROBAT. “The topic of hydrogen is currently just as agile as the methods we have used while developing this project. We have discussed numerous technical solutions and had to overcome one or two hurdles along the way. Eventually, we successfully mastered the adaptation of the burner and the heating furnace for use in industrial roasters. We are thrilled to present the result at interpack this year ‒ A hydrogen-powered Px 120 drum roaster”, he continues.
In the shop roaster segment with significantly lower energy requirements, PROBAT is pushing electrical roasting. The electrical P01 and P05e shop roasters displayed at the PROBAT interpack booth feature groundbreaking electrical heating technology that allows for the same flexibility as a gas burner. This way, consistent and reproducible roasting results are guaranteed, while also considerably fewer pollutant emissions are released during roasting.
Smart solutions
Many innovations are often not visible at first glance, and there is more to PROBAT roasters than meets the eye: The use of industrial sensors to achieve maximum process control is also becoming increasingly important within the coffee industry. PROBAT roasters and plants are equipped with a variety of sensors that collect data and monitor performance metrics. While each type of sensor has a different function, overall, they enable increased production quality and productivity. At interpack, PROBAT allows visitors to explore the many sensors hidden inside the PROBAT roasters and plants.
The PROBAT control solution PILOT 2020 is a “living” software that grows with customer requirements. While continuously working on further standardization, the roasting machine manufacturer has now transformed this one-of-a-kind digital ecosystem into a multifaceted platform: PILOT 2020 Suite. Sebastian Fichthorn, EVP of Electrical Engineering at PROBAT, looks forward to explaining the manifold benefits of the pioneering control solution to the trade show visitors: “At interpack, we demonstrate how third-party technologies are easily integrated into the PILOT 2020 Suite and in which way enhanced targeted data analysis benefits a safe control of coffee processes.”
The future of successful coffee roasteries is based on the ability of process owners to use the information they create and collect during production. Fabscale – founded by PROBAT and software specialist Cropster – develops business intelligence solutions for the coffee industry. The company delivers simple and actionable tools that help customers understand and improve their entire coffee manufacturing processes and all the information they can provide. At interpack, Fabscale demonstrates how the pre-set KPI dashboard which is at the core of Fabscale enables customers to easily run even complex analyses to further optimize their businesses. They enable machine and plant management at every level to make instantaneous decisions based on accurate real-time information.
Hamburg Dresdner Maschinenfabriken (HDM) is a member of the PROBAT Group and one of the world’s leading manufacturers of machinery and plants for the cocoa and chocolate industry. The company offers innovative, high-quality, and reliable components from an exceptionally broad and comprehensive product range. At interpack, HDM demonstrates its application expertise and mechanical engineering experience by showcasing the „Lights out, Factory of the Future”.
After a long lean period with hardly any opportunity to meet in person, PROBAT looks forward with great anticipation to intensifying existing contacts and establishing new ones at this year’s interpack.
Meet the PROBAT team at Booth B14 in Hall 3.