Specializing in production and packaging of instant coffee and tea, CMYK Ltd. was established in Thailand in 2001 as the exclusive co-manufacturer for what some say is the world’s biggest food company, Nestlé.
From the start, Dordrecht, the Netherlands-based Lindor, has been CMYK’s strategic partner for the supply of mixers for its different production lines. Use of Lindor mixers instead of the ribbon mixers often used in Asia has reduced mixing times, facilitated better, faster cleaning and improved product quality.
Lindor, a maker of rotary drum mixers, says it’s known for its "gentle-touch" mixing technique, with designs entirely free of internal agitators. The company says its drum mixers are especially suited for processing delicate granular materials for the food, fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Mixing it up
Several Lindor L1000 mixers are used at CMYK for the coffee-powder mixing process. These mixers cope with batch volumes of 1000 liters, or 500 kg of product, and can mix about 5000 kg per hour. In addition, Lindor mixers are installed in the production lines for other instant beverages such as ice tea.
The plant produces millions of kilograms per annum of instant "3 in 1 Coffee" and instant tea for Asian markets. CMYK optimized its production processes in cooperation with Lindor and AMH Technologies of Malaysia, an engineering company responsible for two production lines. The ability to process eight to 10 batches per hour proceeds at least in part from a net mixing time of only two minutes per batch.
Due to a "gentle touch" mixing principle, powder particles are not damaged. The end product is more soluble, there is less dust and the powder has better flow properties.
"With a small Lindor laboratory mixer we can try out new recipes easily and then scale them up to daily production," says Thanakorn Thedratanawong, CMYK managing director and owner.
Product proliferation
"3 in 1 Coffee" combines instant coffee powder, milk powder (or creamer) and sugar. The target group for this "3 in 1 coffee" is the starting coffee drinker, who mainly prefers a mild sweet coffee. Since 2012 this type of coffee has been sold in the Netherlands under the name Nescafé 3 in 1.
Another important aspect is that rotary-drum mixers consume less energy than ribbon and other type mixers. The electrical power consumption is quite a bit lower and the mixing time is appreciably less.
Thanakorn Thedratanawong concludes: "The Lindor employees are one of the most dedicated, supportive teams that we know. Genuine support is always there when needed, even though we are now 10 years further on."
