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Malt Products Corporation (MPC) recently invested $15 million in a state-of-the-art vacuum belt dryer to produce its dry malted barley extracts — and the company is already reaping the benefits. The new vacuum belt dryer has delivered efficiency and flexibility to MPC’s production process and improved product quality. MPC installed the 58-foot-long Bucher Dryband vacuum belt dryer from Bucher Unipektin last year. It was the culmination of MPC’s five-year, $50 million expansion of its Dayton, Ohio, manufacturing facility, expanding to 114,000 sq ft from 60,000 sq ft. The plant produces and distributes a variety of natural sweeteners, including oat extract and agave nectar, for a global market. It manufactures about 100 million lb of liquid sweeteners and 30 million lb of dry extract sweeteners annually.
MPC uses its new vacuum belt dryer to create dry malted barley extracts. After it converts malted barley into syrup, the liquid is transferred to the vacuum belt dryer. Swiveling nozzles uniformly distribute the liquid onto the belts that convey the liquid through six chambers or zones with heating and cooling plates. The liquid enters the first four zones, where the product is heated, before the last two zones cool...