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2751 Antelope Road, Sabetha, Kansas 66534

FOOD & BEVERAGE AUTOMATION

Automation solutions for food processing

Bread IconNorthWind’s experience in the food processing industry includes dough mixing, extruded snacks, grain milling, specialty ingredients, and much more. We use this experience to provide comprehensive automation solutions for food processes.

Food and Beverage Automation Solutions

NorthWind has years of experience providing controls and automation solutions for food processing facilities. We have the process knowledge to effectively control ingredient transfer, mixing and batching systems, continuous extrusion, and everything in between. Our software solutions include recipe management, lot tracking, reporting, and ERP integration.

Recipe Management
NorthWind’s Recipe Management software has the flexibility you need with an easy to use interface.

Making bread dough is not the same as making pizza dough and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality because of your recipe management tool. With BatchLOGIX®, recipe management software, recipes include both machine and ingredient set points, as well as hand-add ingredients. By incorporating these factors into the recipes, consistency is achieved for all products.

BatchLOGIX - Recipe Management Software Logo
Formula Management
Campaign Scheduling
Information-right reports

>>Learn More

Lot Tracking
Lot numbers and ingredients are traced from the time they enter the facility through packaging.

Trace ingredients through your entire manufacturing process with lot tracking, storage, and reporting capabilities. Lot numbers for liquid and dry ingredients can be traced through multiple systems from source to finished product.

Written tracking methods for lot numbers of hand-add micro ingredients is subject to errors and data gaps. BatchMATE, NorthWind’s automated hand-add station, is connected to the recipe management and lot tracking software. Scan ingredient lot and part numbers are scanned into the system, increasing the accuracy of ingredient management while reducing the time involved.
Data Management
NorthWind makes it easy to collect and use the data that is already available in your plant operation so you can make better, more informed decisions.

We collect information about everything from critical control points and run parameters to ingredient usage and system alarms. With this information we provide KPI dashboards and setup equipment maintenance alerts. All information is stored and ready for analysis and comparison to real-time data. Our online web reporter tool makes this easy.

Redundancy
One of the best ways to ensure uninterrupted operations is through redundancy.

Redundancy increases run time by keeping common interruptions such as a server failure, a power outage, or a failed component from shutting the whole operation down.

Common hardware components to achieve redundancy

  • Server Cluster
  • Battery Backups
  • Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Common software backups to achieve redundancy

  • HMI/Thin Client Modules
  • BatchLOGIX Modules

Control system troubleshooting is just a phone call away. >>Contact our Technical Support Team

Dough Temperature Optimization
Reaching ideal dough temperature is critical to making quality baked products.

Our system reads product temperatures entering the dough mixer and makes proactive adjustments to the temperature of the added water and can even call for specific amounts of ice to reach the optimum dough temperature.

Water Mixing Valve
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BEMA Member

BEMA connects, educates and provides resources for its members and the industries they serve. BEMA creates authentic connections that improve its members’ businesses and the baking industry. Its members utilize the value they gain through BEMA networking and educational events to provide their customers with the most effective, innovative solutions in baking.

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

The NorthWind PlantLOGIX software is explicitly designed to simplify and streamline your factory process. AlarmLOGIX®, BatchLOGIX®, and BatchMATE® were created specifically for the pet food industry to provide more visibility of your plant, seamless lot tracking and time savings.
BatchLOGIX - Recipe Management Software Logo

BatchLOGIX® – A recipe management tool designed exclusively for recipe storage, campaign management and traceability. BatchLOGIX allows you to be as flexible as you need to be with your recipes. Customizable set points for both ingredients and process equipment can be configured in the system. Historical data can also be accessed through easily customized reports to target specific information using filters. Once created, reports can be exported to Excel, WORD, RTF, or PDF for sharing.

NorthWind PlantLOGIX Security

With NorthWind PlantLOGIX™ Security, users are able to log in and navigate seamlessly between all applications in your automation system. As an added safety feature, users are automatically logged out after a pre-set time of inactivity, helping to keep your system secure. The chip in employee badges can also be utilized with an RFID reader for user log in.

BatchMATE logo

BatchMATE® – Hand batching ingredients is a necessary, but often error-prone step in most pet food facilities. BatchMATE helps eliminate operator error by quickly guiding them through the weighing process. Ingredient ID and lot numbers must be scanned before ingredients can be weighed, ensuring automated lot tracking and ingredient accuracy.

What’s next?

Want to learn more about working with NorthWind Technical Services to automate your baking organization?

WHITE PAPERS

HMI Graphics
Thermistor, RTD and Thermocouple graph
Ingredients