News: 28 September 07
Solving technical hurdles leads to new cleaning technology
Using a new scheme that connects New Zealand businesses with global experts has helped an Auckland company crack a complex technical problem and opened the way for it to develop a faster, cheaper and more environmentally friendly cleaning system for food manufacturing plants.
B W Murdoch Limited designs and builds processing factories primarily for the dairy industry and had been looking for innovative technologies to meet client demand for cleaning systems that reduce chemical use and plant down times.
"It’s common for dairy factories to have to shut down production for cleaning two or three times over every 24 hour processing period," says Brett Murdoch, the founder and Chief Executive of BW Murdoch Ltd. "As well as lost production time, there is also concern about the environmental impact of the chemicals used to ensure rigorous cleaning standards are met."
Through a partnership with the University of Auckland, the company has been researching cleaning technology based on applying a current between surfaces of heat exchanger plates. Mr Murdoch says the system, which has grown out of academic research at the university, shows potential to cut plant down time for cleaning by a third and to halve the volume of chemicals needed.
But the project was nearly aborted when early scientific trials highlighted a technical problem which researchers were unable to solve. Rather than abandoning its investment, B W Murdoch Ltd. used a service newly available in New Zealand to search for help through a global network of over 20,000 technology and market experts from leading universities, research organisations and corporations around the world.
Called Global Expert?, the confidential service is provided by a team of specialists at the Foundation? for Research, Science and Technology who send a definition of the problem to a global network and then compile a short list of the most likely experts and the solution they offer.
While eight experts around the world were short listed, B W Murdoch Ltd. selected one based in Wellington who had the necessary knowledge about using electrolysis on metal plates. As a result of his input, the research project is back on track and the new system could be ready for an industry trial by next year.
"The search service was excellent. We had put considerable resources and money into the research project and Global Expert provided a rescue mission at a very reasonable price. The benefits from the service far outweigh its cost."
Mr Murdoch says the new technology offers an important potential add-on to the services already provided by his company. B W Murdoch Ltd. has more than 15 years experience in designing, building and commissioning food processing facilities with recent projects including an upgrade of Fonterra’s butter plant at Te Awamutu and a state-of-the-art ice cream line for Kapiti Fine Foods.
"Efficiencies in cleaning regimes offer a real chance for factories to boost productivity," says Mr Murdoch.
While initial applications of the technology will be in the dairy industry, the company is targeting the wider food processing sector in the long term.
The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has partnered with B W Murdoch Ltd. and the University of Auckland in the research, investing nearly NZ$389,000 through its Technology for Business Growth? scheme.
Foundation Business Manager Stephen Flint says the project is a great example of a university working with industry to commercialise research carried out within the academic environment.