Smoothly pumping 3 different ice cream toppings

When Ysco went looking for the best pump for its chocolate ice cream toppings, the Graco SaniForce 2150e proved unbeatable!

Ysco is an independent subsidiary of Milcobel cvba, Belgium’s largest dairy cooperative. Ysco operates two ultra-modern factories that together produce over 180 million liters of ice cream annually, destined for the largest European supermarket chains and their own brands.

The facility in Langemark, Belgium is responsible for 120 million liters, which makes it by far the largest ice cream factory in the Benelux region. The production site covers six hectares and provides work to over 650 people during peak season. The Ysco facility in Argentan (Normandy, France) produces more than 60 million liters of ice cream annually, and provides work to around 300 people in peak season.

The classic scooping ice cream represents approximately one third of Ysco’s total volume. Ysco can produce 40 flavors of ice cream in different standard tubs ranging from 700 ml to 5 liters. The segment of premium ice cream in particular has seen an enormous growth over the past decade. The company also produces 450 million ice cream cones per year, one million “Jumbo” sticks per day, as well as a variety of ice cream cups and ice cream cakes.

A pump for its toppings

Coatings and toppings form an indispensable element of Ysco’s products. Recently, a new pump was required at Ysco’s Argentan site to feed a hopper with chocolate ice cream topping, into which the extruded ice cream sticks are automatically dipped on a conveyor belt.

The pump had to meet certain requirements. Naturally, it had to meet sanitary requirements and be approved for use in the food industry. It had to be versatile, capable of easily switching between different types of toppings with various viscosities, such as pure, dark, milk and white chocolate ice cream topping. At times the topping will also contain 6 mm almond particles. It had to be low in maintenance, because the existing lob or sinusoidal pump was repeatedly breaking down, leading to downtime, lost production, and high maintenance costs. And Ysco was also looking for a pump with easy plug-and-play installation.

A number of pump suppliers were approached, including Graco’s distributor CLID Industrie, based in Lille, France. “Looking at the list of requirements, we proposed to install the Graco SaniForce 2150e pump at Ysco for an intensive 2-week trial period,” said Pascal Leclerc, CLID. “The main reason behind this choice is that the SaniForce 20150e has all the advantages of a classic air-driven double diaphragm pump, but with an electric motor that cuts energy consumption by 75%.”

These conventional advantages include plug-and-play installation, strong suction power, ability to run dry without damages, and low maintenance with affordable parts. In addition, the SaniForce 2150e meets all the sanitary requirements, and is highly versatile, able to work with a range of viscosities. Moreover, it stalls under pressure, so automatically stops when a valve is closed. CLID was confident that this pump would perform well during the test.

SaniForce 2150e surpasses all expectations

It didn’t just perform well, it excelled. “We were delighted with the SaniForce 2150e, which surpassed all our expectations,” remarked Frédéric Besnard, Production Manager at Ysco. “Installation took only one hour and it was soon up and running at a flow rate of around 190 liters per minute, and it coped well with up to three product changes per day. It operates very smoothly, with extremely low pulsation compared to a classic double diaphragm pump. Finally, the speed of the pump can be adjusted very easily.”

After the trial period, Ysco had no hesitation in purchasing the product. It is now smoothly and energy-efficiently pumping a variety of delicious chocolate ice cream toppings.

More information

If you want to know how the SaniForce 2150e can be used in your own food & beverage applications, visit the product webpage or fill out the contact form below.