Mixing Gardner And Kek Gets Quest International Results

Two GARDNER Mixers and a KEK Centrifugal Sifter supplied to Quest International's Bromborough Port, Wirral site, by Kemutec Group, are giving sterling performances 12 months on. Quest, an ICI Group company, are one of Europe's leading suppliers of food flavourings. They have won contracts from some of the biggest and best names in the business through the excellence of their products, the reliability of their service and their fastidious attention to hygiene. The Bromborough Port site employs around 230 people and has a turnover of US$50 million. To meet customers' demands, the factory operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – only shutting, briefly, twice a year, for maintenance. Random, unannounced hygiene inspections are made several times a year by independent auditors. This keeps everyone on their toes and provides Quest's customers with the quality assurances they demand.

Given this regime, any equipment not only has to perform, it has to be reliable, easy to clean and have no bug traps. Quest are a longstanding Kemutec customer, mainly for size reduction mills. Hitherto, for historical reasons, they have used mixers and sifters of other manufacture. However, some ongoing failure problems with their existing mixers prompted Engineering Manager, John Hardman, and his team to look elsewhere. Not only was there a need to replace an old machine, but also an additional mixer was required to keep abreast with the on-going growth in demand for Quest's products.