Anderson provides Turn Key Solution for Aspen
15 November 2005 ( 2:43pm )

In February of this year, Aspen Pharmcare, the largest manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals in Africa, approached Anderson Engineering to assist them with the supply and commissioning of a toothpaste plant at their manufacturing facility in East London. The company had recently acquired two well-known brands, Mentadent-P and Close-up, from Unilever.

Anderson Engineering has a wealth of experience in the design and manufacture of stainless steel processing equipment. They specialise in customising designs and commissioning projects but also undertake routine work producing equipment to specification. The company was recommended by Unilever, who had already worked with them when they set up a toothpaste plant for Unilever Nigeria. A second referral came from Stuart and Briley, who was to provide the tube filling machine and who had also worked with the Anderson team on other occasions.

Aspen was looking to Anderson Engineering to provide a turnkey solution for their new manufacturing facility. This required Anderson to design, manufacture, install and commission the toothpaste plant. The existing knowledge and design base at Unilever, together with experience gained from the toothpaste plant installed in Nigeria was used as a starting point for the project. However, the team at Anderson Engineering saw the opportunity to improve the plant by simplifying various aspects including powder handling, cleaning and plant access.

The turnkey installation required Anderson to build;

• raw material storage silos;
• premixing equipment;
• a processing vessel with the facility to add and mix the dry ingredients together with a transfer facility to storage and filling;
• C.I.P equipment for the plant;
• process pipework valves and process automation.

The design and fabrication of the equipment involved the entire staff of Anderson Engineering and then a team of ten attended to the site installation in East London. The design and manufacture of the equipment took four months and it was delivered towards the end of August with the final commissioning of the first batch of toothpaste a month later.

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