Miller Magazine Issue: 141 September 2021

46 MILLER / september 2021 NEWS GEA has rounded out its xTru Twin series of high-capacity extruders for the food and pet food industries with the flagship xTru Twin 140. The new top-of-the-range machine is equipped with an advanced profile; powered screws provide users up to 40 percent increased capacity with the same efficiency, quality and footprint as previous models. Additionally, this high-capacity technology can be ap- plied to the other models of the GEA xTru Twin extrud- ers too – models 70/92/112 – and retrofitted to older machines to increase their capacity without changing the floorplan of the factory. The GEA xTru Twin extruders offer the flexibility to pro- duce a wide range of products including: cereal-based snack pellets die-cut, 2D, 3D, multilayers, square shape, punched and direct expanded; breakfast cereals; dry pet food; and any other extruded food product. The lat- est xTru Twin 140 has a production capacity of over 3 tons of pellets and 10 tons of pet food kibbles an hour. MORE CAPACITY BUT SAME FOOTPRINT To achieve the additional capacity GEA engi- neers have used their experience and know-how to increase the cross-sectional area, rotation speed and pitch of the screws on the new machines while maintaining the extruder footprint and screw length. This also allows customers to upgrade existing ma- chines without buying a new one or changing the plant layout. INCREASED QUALITY, HYGIENE AND SAFETY Other key features of the GEA xTru Twin range in- clude: A high-speed premixer for perfectly hydrating flour; a large, curved mixing vessel that facilitates good water absorption and adhering to the requisite hygiene standards; a vertical forced feeding screw to control the dough’s movement into the cooking screw; a powerful, variable speed motor with a safety clutch; a high-torque, double cascade gearbox that ensures excellent power reserves and safety. With its co-rotating, fully intermesh- ing twin screws, a modular barrel assists in properly cooking cereal-based dough. GEA embarked on the process of developing the new technology in response to customers’ requests and the market’s need for a single, high-capacity machine capable of producing a wide range of innovative food shapes. Thanks to this new technology’s flexibility, cus- tomers can develop new products and get them to mar- ket quickly and profitably. GEA launches its new xTru Twin 140 extruder