Visualization and control of the processes of cooling and freezing at the Dutch company Westfort Vleesproducten

Westfort Vleesproducten is a family business that specializes in pork processing. They purchase their pigs only from Dutch farmers, who are also solid family businesses. The company's products are exported all over the world.

Westfort is an innovative global company employing over 1,000 people at four different locations. It was formed from two family businesses with a long tradition in the pork industry – Egbert Kruiswijk Vleesproducten B.V. and Lunenburg Vlees B.V. In 2013, the companies pooled their resources to enhance their position as pioneers in innovative concept development and to further strengthen the move towards sustainability in the Dutch meat industry.

In 2019, the construction of a brand new central processing plant was started. This state-of-the-art facility was expected to be fully operational by mid-2021.

2020 through 2021, the Dutch company Chiron-tec B.V. (in collaboration with VHI Koudetechniek B.V.) implemented a system for the control and monitoring of the processes of cooling and freezing at Westfort's new building.

The installation for the new facility included:

• 8 compressors (10,000 kW of cooling capacity)
• 5 compressors (4,000 kW of freezing capacity)
• 2 compressors (1,500 kW of heat-pump capacity)

Control system

The system consists of three Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 PLCs (with 2,160 IO signals) and the Reliance SCADA/HMI system.

The control system is used for the control and monitoring of the facility's:

• Engine rooms
• Industrial heat pumps
• Cooling and freezing rooms
• Air handling units

Among other things, it is also used for:

• Displaying and printing trends
• Floor plan monitoring
• Email notification in case of an alarm
• Temperature reporting

Examples of visualization windows