Herbert and Flo-Mech team up to build perfect potato washer

Herbert Engineering has recently teamed up with local manufacturer Flo-mech to provide the perfect washing system for the specific needs of the process industry. Like Herbert, Flo-mech has been supplying equipment and solutions to the food processing industry for nearly forty years, and both Herbert and Flo-mech recognized the benefits of working together to create a new washing system for the process industry.

Flo-mech identified that the build quality of Herbert machinery was superior, but had more knowledge of how to sell to leading process companies and what they required in terms of equipment.

Herbert joined forces with Flo-mech to create their "joint" Barrel Washer, which uses Herbert’s design tweaked with Flo-mech’s knowledge and was specifically created for use within the process industry for washing potatoes.

The washer was designed to be more hygiene friendly, easier to clean, and lower maintenance and, although based upon Herbert’s existing Barrel Washer, is a completely new machine designed specifically for the process industry.

The new washer offers the same throughput as a standard Herbert Barrel Washer of up to 30tph and is also capable of destoning, floating object removal, and sludge removal, which allows for longer life of water.

The new design means that the washer can run for up to ten days continuously, showing great reliability and requiring little or no maintenance, which is an exceptional benefit in the process industry, as processing operations generally run without breaks.

Glen Burt, Process Sales Engineer at Herbert:
 

"This project has taken a long time to realize. Working with Flo-Mech has helped Herbert raise our standards. It was important that when we launched the new washer we got it the right the first time as our first units have gone to China and Saudi."

"There are a lot of standards to adhere to and I see the process industry will drive the rest of the potato industry to this higher level. Fortunately, Herbert has a strong enough team to adapt and rise to the challenge."