Food and Beverage Processing

Peter Walker Consultants (PWCL) have around 20 years of food and beverage processing experience. This has included major projects for international brands such as Coca-Cola, Fonterra, Tip Top (ice cream), Kraft Foods, and the New Zealand Dairy Board. We have also worked with other major New Zealand brands, as well as other smaller companies.

We project managed some $500m of work on the Kiwi Dairies Ltd Whareroa site—taking its milk processing capacity from about 6 million litres per day to in excess of 12 million litres per day. It is one of the largest milk-processing sites in the world.

As well as specific spray drying, membrane filtration, water treatment, and product handling experience, we have automation, conveyor, palletising, refrigeration, and extensive clean-in-place (CIP) experience.

We have been directly involved in the processing of meat, fish extracts, vegetable extracts, soup bases, avocado pulp, water, whole milk, skim milk, cheese, butter, cream, ice cream, casein, sweet and lactic whey (which produces whey protein concentrate, WPC, and whey protein isolate, WPI), and a milk calcium compound. We also have experience with highly-viscous products and restaurant facilities.

In order to carry out such work, PWCL has considerable project management experience in design, construction and installation, supervision, and commissioning.

Previous Experience

The following is a list of our previous experience that is directly related to food and beverage processing. All figures are in New Zealand dollars unless otherwise stated.

• Process Plant Upgrade/Relocation, Australia (A$22m)

  Engineering and Project Management assistance, to relocate a "Consumer Pack" food processing operation from one location, and add it to another existing processing plant. Work included incoming materials handling, processing plant upgrading, automation upgrading and finished goods storage.

• Process and Financial Modelling, NZ

  Computer Modelling of various milk processing options including spray drying, cheese, casein, and whey products manufacture.

• Water Processing, NZ ($7.5m)

  Project Management and Engineering for specialist water processing plants requiring water to a quality level equal to or exceeding "Best Practice" drinking water for an international beverage company treating high hardness, high alkalinity bore water to a quality being used to provide bottled water, up to 45,000 litres per hour.

• CIP System - Coca-Cola Amatil, NZ ($353,000)

  Retro-fitting of a manually initiated automated CIP system on an existing filling line to enable new products to be produced. Responsible for final design (concept P&ID's from CCA), site supervision, mechanical and electrical installation, automation and commissioning.

• Water Treatment Plant - Coca-Cola Amatil, PNG ($2.6m)

  Turn-key design, construction, supervision, site installation and commissioning of a fully automated 1.1ML/day water treatment system. Complete detailed design from bore to filling machines including pre-filtration, nano-filtration (installation automation and commissioning), chlorination, dechlorination and water distribution. NF design and supply by others.

• Spray Drier Air Heating System - Fonterra Dairies Ltd, NZ ($1.6m)

  Turn-key rebuild of Hot Air System for No. 2 Spray Drier including new filters, supply fan, steam/air heater, ductwork, steam supply and control systems and plant automation.

• Aerosol Filling Plant - RadPak, NZ ($485,000)

  Complete design and project management for new hygienic filling, labelling and packing plant including gas handling and charging systems, together with building alterations.

• Multi Dip Ice Cream Plant - Tip Top Ltd, NZ ($680,000)

  Complete civil design and project management including all services reticulation for new multi-coated ice cream manufacture and packaging

• Relocation of Cheese Packing Plant - Milk Products Holdings Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia ($A600,000)

  Project Management and design work for the removal of five cheese packing lines and their installation and commissioning at a new site, including building alterations and the installation of services.

• Pasteuriser Installation - Mainland Products Limited, NZ ($1.4m)

  Project management contract for design, installation and commissioning of a 25m³/hr separator, homogeniser and pasteuriser (NZCP7 compliant) for town milk supply at Mainland Products Limited, Longburn. All accounting, purchasing etc internal to Peter Walker Consultants.

• CIP System - Kraft Foods, Melbourne, Australia (A$600,000)

  Upgrade of existing CIP system. Project management including design, installation and commissioning. All works were completed with minimum disruptions to Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) plant which was required to maintain normal production schedules and hygiene standards throughout the project.

• Note: PWCL has project managed some $500m of work on the Kiwi Dairies Ltd Whareroa site, taking its milk processing capacity from about 6 million litres per day to in excess of 12 million litres per day. It is one of the largest milk-processing sites in the world.

• Powder 5 Plant - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($110m)

  Project management of milk treatment upgrade, evaporators and drier, powder transport and packing, services and utilities, effluent (including chemical recovery), civil design and construction of the 53m high concrete process building, labs, offices, and boot exchange areas.

  At the time of completion Powder 5 was the largest milk powder plant (at 20 tonnes per hour) in the world. A significant aspect of the project was integrating the existing Powder 3 and Powder 4 operations with the new plant, particularly the control room, powder transport system and powder packing.

• 12,000 Tonne -18°C Butter Store - New Zealand Dairy Board, NZ ($12m)

  Project management contract for design and construction, including refrigeration, racking system, fire protection, electrical, rail sidings and roading.

• Research Facilities Upgrade - New Zealand Dairy Research Institute, NZ ($11m)

  Project management of design and construction of new administration wing and the complete refurbishment of five multi-storey research laboratory wings.

• 265 Metre Butter Conveyor - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($2.6m)

  Project management contract for design and construction, including conveyor and palletising, refrigeration, fire protection and electrical.

• Site Services Upgrade - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($30m)

  Project management, design and site supervision of major revisions to the site Hot Water, Domestic Cold Water, Cooling Water, Chilled Water and Compressed Air systems including:

  • 14MW of additional hot water heating
  • 10ML/Day of additional treated domestic cold water plant
  • 56MW of additional cooling water capacity
  • 10MW of additional chilled water capacity
  • 1200lpm of additional dried compressed air
  • All major reticulation changes associated with these services.
• Milk Evaporator Condensate Treatment Plant - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($3m)

  Project management, design and site supervision of the installation of a water treatment facility capable of handling up to 7Ml/day of evaporator condensate. Product water is sterile and has greatly reduced taste and greatly reduced smell compared with raw condensate. This allows the high quality water to be used for high grade product washing and dilution.

• Restaurant and Tourism Centre - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($2m)

  Project management contract for design and construction, including restaurant facilities, rotating dining areas, life size displays and automation.

• Powder 3 and 4 Plants - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($55m and $80m resp.)

  Project management of the design, construction and commissioning of P3 (6.25tph) and P4 (10tph). At the time of commissioning the P4 plant was the largest of its type in the world. These projects included the necessary milk treatment upgrade, evaporators and drier, powder transport and packing, services, utilities, effluent removal (including chemical recovery), and civil design and construction including labs, offices, and boot exchange areas.

• WPC 80 Complete Plant - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($80m)

  Project management of the design, installation and commissioning of a complete WPC80 production plant for both sweet and lactic whey, from whey clarification to powder packing.

• WPI and Alamin Complete Plants - Kiwi Dairies, NZ ($8m and $12m resp.)

  Project management of the design and installation of the world's first commercial WPI and "Calcium Salts from Whey" plants.