Focus on innovation

BIG combines tradition with innovation. We constantly develop and test new products in order to respond to customers’ needs as much as possible. A central part in all this is played by our Pilot Plant, where all new developments are tested in advance at a semi-industrial scale.

This also allows us to manufacture a larger number of samples. New products can be subjected to extensive consumer testing. The system also offers technical support to the production, marketing and sales department.

How does the Pilot Plant work?

The Pilot Plant includes a 25-litre Liquiverter mixing tank with mixers and a heating jacket. The ingredients are mixed and heated in the Liquiverter until all microorganisms are destroyed. The fat particles are reduced to about one thousandth of a millimetre in the homogeniser. This prevents phase separation and provides a creamier and rounder tasting sensation.

A double-speed centrifugal pump pushes the pasteurised mix through a double-pipe heat exchanger. This cools the mix down to below 6° C.

Four 25-litre ripening tanks with slow-turning stirring system and a cooling jacket guarantee that the mix ripens below 6° C. The ripening process causes fat crystallisation. The free water binds with the proteins, which increases viscosity.

The ripened mix is beaten below 0° C and the required air is introduced in order to transform it into ice cream in a continuous freezer with a capacity of 30 to 160 litres an hour.

Dried fruit and fruit and chocolate preparations can also be added to the ice cream in the sampling system.

The Pilot Plant also has an extrusion filling system allowing both horizontal and vertical extrusion.