GEA makes the sauces market more sustain­able

GEA is steadily building its presence in the food industry across the Benelux, with a particular focus on sauces. It's an important next step for the specialist in the liquid food sector. Pumps, valves, and homogenizers are essential components in this field.

From valves and pumps to complete processing lines, GEA supplies a wide range of advanced processing components worldwide—designed specifically for industries working with liquids. In the Benelux, it is a well-known fact when it comes to dairy, beer, and soft drinks. Less widely known, however, is that the Düsseldorf-based GEA Group has also been supporting sauce producers for decades. The company plans to focus on this even more in the coming years.

Hygienic pumps

Processing components like pumps and valves are crucial when producing dairy, beer, and soft drinks, and they’re also a great fit for the production of sauces, dressings, spreads, and tapenades. “Our extensive portfolio includes high-quality hygienic valves, hygienic pumps, aseptic valves, and cleaners,” says Sven Duteweert, (pump) specialist for hygienic pumps. “They can be purchased individually or as part of an integrated system. Our full hygienic pump portfolio is tailored to viscous products—for example, the Twin-screw pump, which carries the ‘Add Better’ label. This designation highlights products that perform significantly better than their predecessors in terms of efficiency and environmental impact.”

Repair and overhaul

GEA doesn’t just supply new pumps, they also provide service support from a fully equipped workshop. “Every pump is tested after being overhauled,” Sven explains. Customers receive a report with details on performance curves (flow/pressure/power consumption), efficiency curves, and vibration monitoring. “The pump is only released and shipped once it meets all specifications,” he assures. “This way, we ensure a high quality standard and can guarantee our repair or overhaul work. Our valves are the heart of the process, used for stopping, switching, and controlling product flow. To prevent contamination, we use double-seat valves. That’s a proven technology that helps safeguard product safety. All components come with the necessary certifications, such as EHEDG and FDA.”

Product Recovery System

Cleaning processing lines for sauces isn’t easy. On top of that, food producers want to limit product loss as much as possible. Sven: “Our answer is the Product Recovery System. These so-called pigging systems are designed to minimise waste and product loss. The Varicover Product Recovery System uses a flexible cleaning pig that is pushed through the pipeline. This pushes the remaining product out of the pipes and back into the product stream. As a result, there’s no leftover product in the lines, that would otherwise be flushed away during cleaning. In addition to cutting product loss, this approach significantly reduces wastewater load. A classic win-win.”

From left to right: Jeroen Gijselaar, Hans Steenbergen, and Sven Duteweert

CIP: Cleaning-in-Place

“Our CIP (Cleaning-in-Place) system is a crucial process step in ketchup, mayonnaise, and other sauce processing lines,” says Sven. “CIP ensures equipment hygiene, limits the risk of microbiological contamination, safeguards product quality, and reduces downtime. That, in turn, lowers production costs. At the same time, there’s growing pressure on the industry to reduce the amount of process wastewater discharged into sewers. With pH-resistant nanofiltration (NF) membranes, it’s possible to recover more than 90 percent of a used caustic solution.”

Homogenizers

When it comes to sauces, homogenizers set the industrial standard for hygienic and aseptic processing, automation, and cleanability. They help sauces maintain their colour, prevent separation, and stay homogeneous and it gives them a longer shelf life. “Homogenisation has traditionally been used for dairy—to improve stability and shelf life, as well as digestibility and taste,” adds Jeroen Gijselaar, Sales Manager Homogenizers. “But it’s just as effective for ketchup, barbecue, spaghetti, and mushroom sauces, as well as mayonnaise, marinades, dressings, and hummus. Without homogenisation, ketchup tends to turn into an unappealing kind of goo. It also helps reduce the need for additives, while improving ingredient dispersion and flavour absorption.”

Together with advanced vacuum mixers, pasteurisation and/or UHT systems, and process automation, GEA can deliver fully integrated sauce production lines—from raw material intake to bottling, bagging, or other packaging. “We also offer lab and pilot plant testing facilities to trial and fine-tune new recipes. ‘Test before you invest’ is one of our favourite sayings,” Jeroen adds. “When a customer decides to work with us, we become their maintenance partner too. Our aim is complete peace of mind.”

From engineering to automation

Valves, pumps, and homogenizers are all essential for GEA’s presence in the liquid food market—but they’re just part of the story. “We design and supply complete sauce lines with all the necessary components in-house—from engineering to automation,” says Hans Steenbergen, Account Manager at GEA Process Engineering. “We can also help upgrade or expand existing lines, from raw material handling to mixing, heating, and cooling. We’re capable of designing, building, and maintaining entire factories. From the first draft to final delivery, from servicing to performance optimisation—our turnkey solutions support the full lifecycle.”

More on Flow Components and Homogenizers:

FLOW4YOU | GEA Flow components for your production flow
GEA high pressure homogenizers

Or get in touch directly with:

Hans Steenbergen
Account Manager GEA Tuchenhagen -Liquid & Powder Technologies
E: [email protected]
M: +31 6 22970716

Sven Duteweert
Product Specialist GEA Hilge Pumps -Liquid & Powder Technologies
E: [email protected]
M: +31 6 29602432

Jeroen Gijselaar
Sales Manager Homogenizers - Service Sales -Liquid & Powder Technologies
E: [email protected]
M: +31 6 31141808

Photos: © Cor Salverius Fotografie