A major event in the agri-food sector in France, the CFIA (Carrefour des fournisseurs de l'industrie agroalimentaire) was able to open its doors in Rennes on 9, 10 and 11 June 2021.
After the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the health context, the CFIA of Rennes, was held from 9 to 11 June. The crossroads of suppliers in the food industry, eagerly awaited by manufacturers deprived of trade fairs during the year 2020 and a large part of 2021 due to the pandemic, was the first trade show to restart in Europe.
"The challenge was not small, and we succeeded: holding the first trade show in Europe since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, bringing together 1,600 exhibitors and finally allowing, once again, meetings between professionals, this is what we have achieved! We would have liked to have more visitors, more meetings, but reconnecting with normal life takes time. We will continue to be determined to promote the vitality of the economy and the territories. This edition confirms that physical and human encounters remain a priority for the economic development and growth of our country," said Sébastien Gillet, Managing Director of GL events Exhibitions Industrie and Director of the CFIA Show.
Innovative solutions
On the equipment and process side, many companies were present, including solution providers from the world of measurement and control. For example, HTDS presented its latest innovations for automatic inspection and online quality control. In particular, the company highlighted its new Dymond DSV RX scanner, a stand-alone online inspection solution for the control of agri-food products offering very high accuracy and contaminant detection speed.
In the field of measurement, Endress+Hauser had reserved a stand that matched its ambitions, with many products on display. Nominated 2020 in the process category, its Promass Q flow meter, extremely accurate on density, offers the possibility of measuring the proliferation of food products, in real time, directly on the production lines. Thanks to its patented system for oscillating the tubes of the Coriolis flow meter (Multi Frequency Technology or MFT), it makes it possible to reliably measure the flow rate of aerated fluids. All emulsioned products can be processed. "This is a great innovation. Incorrect measures can be penalizing. The Promass Q makes it possible to make measurements online for optimized quality and productivity without loss of material," says Endress+Hauser. In terms of physico-chemical analysis, Endress+Hauser also exhibited its glass-free pH electrode CPS77D, which has the advantage of being able to be installed on the production line without the need to remove it during EDP cycles. As part of the online cleaning, the company also introduced the Liquitrend QMW43, an flush sensor that can directly measure the thickness of fouling on the walls of tanks or pipes.
Precia Molen presented at the show its weighing solutions specific to the food industry. Solutions that are connected. Qubes, the data digitization solution for the control of operational processes developed by Creative IT, a company of the Precia Molen group, was presented. Material reception, ingredient weighing, automatic data acquisition and collection, real-time monitoring, traceability, overdose control, quality control, etc.: Qubes benefits from extensive functional coverage. "The company Creative IT, which was recently acquired by Precia Molen, will become the group's 4.0 center of gravity, which integrates and manages traceability around weight measurement," says Precia Molen.
ASC Instruments, which manufactures instruments to control leaks from any type of packaging, presented its ASC 7400F series for rigid packaging, and ASC 7400S for the control of flexible packaging of any size. "Our equipment makes it possible not to do destructive leak tests, thus reducing waste while improving quality and margins. With the possibility, too, of making systematic tests on the production, we emphasize at ASC Instruments.
The latest addition to the S range – which makes it possible to control extremely waterproof packaging such as packaging with a lower level of tightness. : the 7400S.2 whose ergonomics have been optimized. The equipment has a drawer and a swivel display for better user comfort.
Vega Technique has highlighted its novelties for level detection, analog level measurement and pressure measurement, with sensors adapted to the problems of the food industry "In the Vegapoint family, we have, for example, a capacitive detector to detect the presence or absence of a product in a tank to make anti-overflow security or avoid the empty running of a product", indicate within the company that offers a set of products with, in particular, electrical connections in n12 format, IO-Link and Bluetooth communication protocols, and devices offering the possibility of visualizing the switching status and learning more about the status of the level.
TH Industrie, distributor of measuring devices, was also present with instruments selected for the show such as, for example, transmitters or flow meters. Speed, flow, temperature, shocks, vibration, light, etc., TH Industrie distributes in France many brands such as Grant, Höntzsch, Comet, Novis, Schildknecht, Driesen-Kern, SenseAir, CS-Instruments, Thermigraphics, Accubar, MSR, TandD, Keytag, Axetris, Farsens, Kanomax.
The agri-food industry 2.0
On the occasion of this show, the Agro Factory of the Future, a 25-metre facility designed by 22 industrial partners, also highlighted innovative control solutions. On the production line in demonstration: an assortment of optical measurements proposed by Photon Lines (colorimetry, hyperspectral analysis, image processing with artificial intelligence, wide spectrum analyzer), vision solutions dedicated to the control of the distribution of ingredients on trays and the quality control of seals designed by Bizerba Luceo, and an ultra-fast bacteria detection system to identify contamination on the lines early of production developed by Direct Analysis, a start-up from the CEA.
Digital solutions were also present on the demonstrator. For example, the CEA has benefited from the expertise of the CEA-List to create, in collaboration with Siemens and the equipment manufacturer Guelt, a digital twin fully integrated into the production line. Among the challenges of this type of device: carry out remote predictive maintenance and anticipate process drifts.
Clauger received a CFIA 2021 trophy in the equipment & processes category for its Water Weight product, a tool to measure product weight losses or equipment yields.
See you from 8 to 10 March 2022 for the next edition of the CFIA which will mark the 25th anniversary of the show!
Clauger, CFIA Innovation Trophy 2021 in the equipment & process category for its Water Weight solution
Water Weight is an intuitive and plug & play tool to measure product weight losses or equipment yields (control of fruit water loss during the preservation phase, cheese ripening monitoring, monitoring of the performance of a CTA). It combines a tank to continuously measure water loss (related to the performance of cold batteries), a connected PLC to record, visualize, alert and correct if necessary, as well as performance indicators in the form of a dashboard.
