Munson Machinery Co., Inc.PO Box 855210 Seward Ave.Utica, NY 13502 USATel: 1-800-944-6644(In NY: 1-315-797-0090)Fax: 315-797-5582info@munsonmachinery.com

DRY BULK BLENDING EQUIPMENT• Rotary Batch Mixers

• Ribbon/Paddle/Plow Blenders

• Rotary ContinuousBlenders

• High Intensity Continuous Blenders

• Vee-Cone Blenders

• Fluidized Bed Mixers

SIZE REDUCTION EQUIPMENT• Shredders

• Rotary Lump Breakers

• Heavy Duty Cutters

• Knife Cutters

• Pin Mills

• Attrition Mills

• Hammer Mills

• Custom Machinery

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Transylvania Vocational Services

Vocational Service Blends DryProducts for CommercialBakers with Sanitary Ribbon

Vocational Service Blends Dry Products for CommercialBakers with Sanitary Ribbon Blender

From each bulk bag, dry whole wheat flourand instant nonfat dry milk arepneumatically conveyed to a weighinghopper and then into the MunsonHD-3-1/2-7 SSD Double Ribbon Blender.

Shortening is added to blender, equippedwith a shortening extrusion system, bymeans of a progressive cavity pump.

BREVARD, NC Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) located in theBlue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, provides an organizedprogram of developmental activities for individuals 18 years of age orolder who have intellectual or physical disabilities. The programincludes paid work training to enable individuals who lack workexperience or need specific vocational training, to overcome barriers toemployment and enter a competitive job market.

To fund the program, TVS operates a plant in which bulk food productsare blended and packaged for sale to government and commercialcustomers. The operation can blend a wide range of dry bulk foodingredients, from bakery and confectionary blends to dietarysupplements and beverage mixes.

These products are blended using a 65 cu ft (1.8 cu m) ModelHD-3-1/2-7 SSD Double Ribbon Blender from Munson MachineryInc. equipped with a shortening extrusion system for bakery mixes.The blender also has a pressurized oil spray bar for adding uniformdosages of vegetable oil. "Because of its versatility and ability toproduce a number of different formulations, the blender not onlyprovides our clients with an excellent vocational opportunity but alsoallows us to market our products to a variety of customers," says SteveGreen, TVS Plant Manager.

Products sold under registered trademark

Blended products such as Hot Roll Mix, Sweet Roll Mix and"NutraBlend" Instant Corn Soy Blend are all sold under the MountainMaid™ trademark. The non-profit organization acquired thetrademark as the result of a contest conducted in 2000 in preparationfor packaging nonfat dry milk for the United States Department ofAgriculture (USDA). The name was selected because it was symbolicof the culture of western North Carolina.

One of TVS's newer products is called Mountain Maid Low Fat BakeryMix, a blend of whole wheat flour, instant nonfat dry milk, shorteningand proprietary ingredients. The mix is produced under contract withUSDA for distribution to food banks, domestic feeding programs, andother nonprofit organizations. "The ingredients are blended inindividual batches in our USDA dairy certified Munson ribbon blenderwhich our clients operate," says Green. "The finished product can beused as a basic ingredient in baked or fried staples such as pie crust,pancakes, doughnuts, cornbread, biscuits and gravy."

In addition to Low Fat Bakery Mix and other Mountain Maid brandedproducts, the plant blends custom formulations under contract tocustomer specifications.

Designed for thorough mixing, easy cleaning

Small amounts of proprietary ingredientsare added to the blender by hand.

Overall view shows two bulk bagdischargers for whole wheat flour andnonfat dry milk, pneumatic conveyinglines, weighing hopper, hand addition ofingredients, the ribbon blender, andfinal mix in the bulk bag below blender.

"Bakery Mix is prepared in 2500 lb (1134 kg) batches," Green explains."Two ingredients 1950 lb (884.5 kg) of dry whole wheat flour and 150lb (68 kg) of instant nonfat dry milk are pneumatically conveyed into aweighing hopper on load cells located directly above the ribbonblender. About 250 lb (113.4 kg) of proprietary ingredients are addedto the blender by hand, while some 150 lb (68.0 kg) of shortening isadded by means of a progressive cavity pump.

The pump is equipped with a hopper to hold 50 lb (22.7 kg) blocks ofshortening, and the hopper is equipped with a gravity fed screw augerto pull the plasticized shortening into the pump.

If the product being blended requires vegetable oil (Instant Corn SoyBlend, for one), the dosage to the blender is regulated by aprogrammable logic controller interfaced with load cells beneath the oilholding tank.

The Munson ribbon blender is a stainless steel food grade unit with acapacity of 65 cu ft (1.84 cu m). Powered by a 25 hp (18.65 kw) electricmotor, its 2-to-1 agitator length-to-width ratio yields uniform blends inminimum cycle times. Blending capacity is calculated as approximately70% to 80% of total vessel volume, leaving ample room for materialflow on the upswing side of the agitator.

Sanitation is constantly maintained

All internal welds have a minimum 0.25 in. (6.35 mm) radius toeliminate corners, cracks and crevices that could entrap material. Tighttolerances of 1/16 in. to 1/32 in. (1.6 mm to 0.8 mm) between theribbon blades and the blender trough minimize the residual heel ofmaterial remaining in vessel after discharge, an advantage whencleaning between batches.

Once the Low Fat Bakery Mix is thoroughly blended, it is dischargedinto a bulk bag located directly below the blender. The bag istransported to a separate clean room where its contents are packagedin various smaller containers to fill individual customer orders. "Ourclean rooms can be used interchangeably for any of our blendedproducts, but packaging lines for different food products are located inseparate clean rooms, each with its own separate HVAC system toprevent cross-contamination," Green explains. "After each productproduction/packaging cycle, the clean room is thoroughly sanitized.The sanitation is then verified using ATP testing, a rapid measurementof actively growing microorganisms through detection of AdenosineTriphosphate, or ATP. Allergen testing is also conducted beforesetting up the clean room for the next product.

USDA and ISO Certified

The ribbon blender was purchased with the assistance of Solid DesignSoutheast (Charlotte, NC), an independent Munson representative."John Reinecke, our Solid Design sales representative, worked closely

Designed for thorough mixing, easycleaning: Tight tolerances between ribbonblades and blender trough minimizeresidual material remaining in the vesselafter discharge. Agitator length-to-widthratio of 2-to-1 yields uniform blends inminimum cycle times. A spray line isincluded for liquid additions.

Packages of Low Fat Bakery Mix, amongother blended products sold under theMountain Maid™ trademark, aredistributed to food banks, domesticfeeding programs, and other nonprofitorganizations.

Nonfat dry milk (L), whole wheat flour(R), shortening and proprietaryingredients comprise the final Non FatBakery Mix (C).

with us in selecting the proper equipment," Green recalls. "He helpedus locate an engineering company that could design and install theentire production line, including the blender and the accessoriesrequired to weigh and measure the Bakery Mix ingredients. Munsonpersonnel were also available whenever we had questions. In fact, weare in the process of purchasing a blender, similar to our currentinstallation, to increase our manufacturing flexibility and to expand ourtotal blending capacity."

The TVS food packaging operation is certified to USDA 3-A standards."Such certification requires inspection by a qualified third party to verifyuse and maintenance of uniform standards and practices for thesanitary and hygienic design, fabrication, installation and operation ofequipment and machinery," Green explains. "As an ISO 9001:2008registered facility, we assure our customers that quality is integratedinto every step in our manufacturing processes."

TVS is committed to upholding the highest food safety standards. "Ourproduction and sanitation practices, based on the highest industryguidelines and current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs), are putto the test constantly through audits by the USDA AgriculturalMarketing Service (USDA-AMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA),U.S. Army Veterinary Command (VETCOM) and other third-partyagencies," says Green. "If a customer needs Kosher certification, wecan provide that as well."

Transylvania Vocational Serviceswww.tvsinc.org