Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, Waldenbuch, Germany, is family-owned in the third generation, and every family has its traditions... For almost 100 years, the Ritter family has kept a sweet secret- The recipe for success is to produce good chocolate: "square, practical, good". Their chocolate range, Ritter Sport, is now sold in about 90 different countries.

Optimisation of the production processes  in the  Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co.KG required an improvement in compressed air quality. The problem was clearly defined: Com-pressed air for the pneumatic handling of cereals, cocoa powder and other primary matters in the production of chocolate had to be in accordance with the strict  requirements of the HACCP concept. This concept is a preventive system which ensures the safety of food for consumers. Developed in 1959 in the USA for NASA. Under German law, HACCP became a constituent part of the Food Hygiene Ordinance in 1998.  In the EU, it came into effect in 2006, together with the new hygiene regula-tions package.

Innovative solutions and a competent implementation were in demand.
The safest way to prevent clumping in the conveyor pipes, and microbial growth in the product is compressed air which is processed to a pressure dew point of -40 °C. Therefore, an adsorption dryer was the central component of the system. The BEKO processing and system experts convinced the customer with a system solution of fully aligned quality products. The central module being a heat-regenerated adsorption dryer of the EVERDRY© FRA-V 3400 C type. The function of the FRA-V series require no compressed air, either for the desorption process nor for subsequent cooling of the heated desiccant (ZERO PURGE). Therefore, 100% of the compressed-air volume flow at the inlet of the system is available for the application

EVERDRY – the concept
Aligned system components form a clear compact unit: a CLEARPOINT© pre-filter with a BEKOMAT© 14 condensate drain. A heat-regenerated adsorption dryer of the EVER-DRY© FRA-V 3400 C type. A water-cooled heat exchanger for the pre-reduction of the compressed-air temperature. An EVERSORP© EC 2600 oil vapour adsorber  to ensure the required freedom from oil contamination. A CLEARPOINT© after filter for the separation of particles. Finally, sterile filtration prior to introduction into the com-pressed-air system. Permanent monitoring of the residual oil content in the com-pressed air is implemented with measurement technology made by BEKO.