Latest PLC platform future-proofs food ingredients production

CP Kelco is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of food ingredients and has now future-proofed its production with the latest generation of PLC platform supplied from its long-standing partner DI-Teknik.

CP Kelco is one of the world’s leading producers of food ingredients – including pectin and carrageenan – and the concern’s largest factory is in Denmark – in Lille Skensved.

Here at the world’s largest pectin factory, production runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The customers include food and beverage producers who need the stabilizing effect of the ingredients. For example, the ingredients from CP Kelco are used in a product that everyone uses every day – toothpaste.

The highly automated production at CP Kelco is completely dependent on e.g. PLC technology, and current PLC solutions are reaching an age where future-proofing has become necessary. Therefore, CP Kelco has received a completely new PLC platform from its long-standing partner DI-Teknik, which are specialists in both industrial electricity and automation.

“We are in a situation where more and more of our PLC hardware can become difficult to replace because it has been discontinued from the market, so we must start moving our production to a new, future-proof PLC platform – both when it’s hardware and software. It will not happen all at once, but now we have started with a pressure filter as the first plant, and then we gradually move more and more plants to the latest version of Siemens PLC platform – TIA Portal 17 – which supports the latest PLC components, ”says Henrik Parbo, Manufacturing IT Engineer at CP Kelco.

Two new PLC libraries

Moving to the latest PLC platform from Siemens will bring CP Kelco several benefits.

“The factory runs with a very high level of automation, but we have a need for specially adapted solutions and cannot just buy plug-and-play solutions. We have our own technical standards, and therefore we need a supplier like DI-Teknik, who has the competencies to develop specially adapted PLC solutions. We have achieved this now and thus achieved better control of our processes than before, which is also a prerequisite for the continued optimization of our production, ”says Andriy Shmorhun, Manufacturing IT Team Supervisor at CP Kelco.

Specifically, DI-Teknik has delivered two PLC libraries – a library with standard blocks for controlling the various production processes and a library for controlling safety PLCs, which must take over in the event of safety-critical error messages and exceeding limit values related to safety. In addition, the necessary documentation has been provided.

“This is a software delivery, where CP Kelco has got standard tools to establish new PLC solutions as the need arises. You could say that we have delivered the bricks, and now they have to build the house themselves, ”says Morten Ulrik Hansen, Software Engineer at DI-Teknik.

Better information for operators

For CP Kelco, there are several benefits to switching to the latest PLC platform from Siemens.

“We will now work with the latest PLC technology and are thus guaranteed support and the opportunity to use the best solutions for many years to come. We also benefit from all the progress that has been made in the last 20 years since our oldest PLC solutions were adopted. After all, a lot has happened in the time that we can benefit from in the form of greater flexibility in the choice of solutions, better opportunities for optimization, control of PID controllers and other components, in addition to integration and data exchange with other systems, ” says Andriy Shmorhun.

On a daily basis, the operators in the production also receive better feedback and information about the processes for which they are responsible. because risks and limit values vary from plant to plant, but for the time being it seems to work as intended, ”says Morten Ulrik Hansen.

Like many other companies, CP Kelco is experiencing increasing demands to protect itself against cyber attacks.

“We are facing a future where companies must expect an increased risk of cyber attacks, and therefore we must constantly think in increased cyber security. We expect that the new PLC platform will be better able to support our future security requirements, ”says Andriy Shmorhun.

It has been an unavoidable requirement from CP Kelco that the new PLC platform was completely supplier-independent, so that the company is free to choose its future partner when it comes to PLC solutions.

“If a program for a process causes problems, it is now possible to provide operators with much better information in connection with both troubleshooting and troubleshooting. We expect this to be significantly better. The new PLC version can handle texts much better, which is important for the operators when it comes to descriptions of what they have to do to get a process restarted if, for example, a valve does not open, ”says Henrik Parbo.

“We can now rethink our entire way of managing production. We are no longer stuck in the limitations of the old controls, but can redesign in a much better way, where we can program with the new standard library, which ensures that we do not have to start from scratch every time, ”says Andriy Shmorhun.

CP Kelco can now put their own custom solutions on top of the Siemens TIA Portal 17 using Siemens Openness, which also makes auto-generation of code easier.

“Auto-generation of PLC code has two major advantages: It saves time and avoids many errors that would have occurred in manual coding. We can now use parameterization, where you use process parameters instead of coding everything from scratch. Instead of coding all the desired functions in an engine, we can instead just specify the engine type and then it is automatically generated in the code. Together with the Openness tool from Siemens, it provides both a simplified, time-saving process and the desired safety when we put new plants into operation or change existing processes, ”says Henrik Parbo.

Project group and workshops

At DI-Teknik, a project group was set up, which has taken care of the task of delivering the new PLC platform to CP Kelco.

“When we found out that CP Kelco did not want to use our standard PLC solution, we initiated a process with workshops to clarify and describe their new solution before we started preparing the new standard libraries. In this case, the customer has had strong PLC competencies, and it has given a very exciting process, where I think both parties have learned something along the way and have become wiser about the advantages and disadvantages of different types of PLC solutions, “says Morten Ulrik Hansen.

The task for DI-Teknik has been to supply two standard libraries, for which CP Kelco has since taken over responsibility.

“Now CP Kelco has libraries built for the latest version of the TIA Portal, which enables a much better overview of their PLC components as they roll out the platform on their production facilities. They get a much better and faster opportunity to update older PLC versions with a few clicks, so that an entire production line behaves uniformly, ”says Mads Haack, Software Engineer at DI-Teknik.

The libraries are connected to Versiondog, which handles files, backup and version control of software and firmware.

“The communication between libraries and Versiondog ensures version control and thus a uniform structure and latest versions throughout. There is also a complete history and logging of all activities on the PLC blocks – who made what changes when, “says Mads Haack.

Completely independent PLC solution
In total, DI-Teknik has delivered 25 PLC blocks corresponding to functions and components – eg motors, valves and pumps – with the possibility of making the necessary measurements and setting limit values - for e.g. flow, temperature, pressure, pH and turbidity.

“The new PLC platform also enables you to change a process without stopping the ongoing production batch, so you avoid stops, restarts and production losses,” says Morten Ulrik Hansen.

The new platform has been tested at DI-Teknik on a test stand, so that a robust solution has been achieved before it is implemented at CP Kelco.

“The initial tests at DI-Teknik have helped to ensure a good start to the use of the new platform at the factory. We also have our own security specialists who helped when we created the new security library and security code. It can be difficult to standardize safety at PLC level, because risks and limit values vary from plant to plant, but for the time being it seems to work as intended, ”says Morten Ulrik Hansen.

Like many other companies, CP Kelco is experiencing increasing demands to protect itself against cyber attacks.

“DI-Teknik has fully understood our desire that their solution is not dependent on them in the future, so it is now 100 percent our own code. Now we are free to choose a PLC programmer in the future, and we ourselves have good internal PLC competencies and therefore the opportunity to continue working with the solution that DI-Teknik has provided. In the future, we can now decide whether we program our new solutions ourselves, or we ask an external supplier for help. It gives us the optimal control and flexibility at the same time, ”says Henrik Parbo.

Good cooperation

CP Kelco praises the collaboration and process with DI-Teknik. Before DI-Teknik was chosen as supplier, CP Kelco had a dialogue with other possible suppliers.

“The initial dialogue with other suppliers made it clear to us how this should not be done. So it was good to get DI-Teknik on the field. They have tried such tasks before and made a plan for the course. We have been extremely satisfied. They have listened to us throughout and had an understanding of our needs and wishes, ”says Henrik Parbo.

Along the way, DI-Teknik has provided weekly status reports on the project’s progress, so CP Kelco has been updated on both the technical and financial aspects and has been able to prioritize the outstanding tasks in relation to the budget. The new PLC platform from DI-Teknik has been delivered at the agreed time and budget.

“We started with workshops to clarify and describe the solution we wanted. Both parties come with strong PLC competencies, so it has been a professionally heavy dialogue. When you do not just need a standard solution, the initial dialogue is very important, so that the supplier knows what the customer’s wishes and requirements are. We have experienced good and safe advice, and DI-Teknik has always had the documentation in order for their proposals, which is important when there have been standards, directives and protocols that had to be followed. Here, it is very important to have an experienced and knowledge-intensive partner, ” says Andriy Shmorhun.

Now CP Kelco has taken over the roll-out of the new PLC platform at its production facilities.

The new PLC solution for CP Kelco includes:

– Two libraries with a total of 25 standard PLC blocks: A library for standard processes and a library for security

– TIA Portal V17, with Openness – latest PLC solution from Siemens

– Versiondog – automates management of software and data, including updates and backup

PLC hardware

The solution from DI-Teknik has made CP Kelco ready for the latest generation of PLC components:

– Simatic S7 – supports 1200 and 1500 series

Dual PLC solution: 1 PLC for process control (Siemens 1517-3 PN) + 1 PLC (Siemens 1516F-3 PN / DP) for safety

Software

– Siemens TIA Portal 17

– Interface for ABB System 800xA

Communication between PLC and SCADA: OPC UA and OPC DE

– Other platforms for data communication: Profinet, Profibus DP, Profibus PA, Siemens Open User Communication, I-Device.

Advantages of new PLC platform

– Future security of PLC-controlled production – minimum 20 years expected life

Greater flexibility in process and production management

– Better support for process optimization

– Higher level of information for operators – provides faster troubleshooting and troubleshooting – less downtime

– Quick update of all PLC components

– Better cyber security

– Processes can be changed without stopping production

– Avoid duplication of tag no.

The article has been prepared by JJ Kommunikation in collaboration with CP Kelco and DI-Teknik. The article is published in Maskinmesteren, February 2022.

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