Lantmännen

Lantmännen Cerealia Oy’s factory in Kotka produces Finland’s most popular crispbreads. A filter solution supplied by Rejlers allowed the production line to reduce the amount of particles accumulating in the oven. 

Lantmännen Cerealia’s crispbread is produced in a continuous process, in which rye dough progresses through the production line. In the process, the dough is topped with flour and sprinkles. These particles accumulate at the bottom of the oven during baking, which creates additional challenges for the process. 

“The filter solution aims to remove particles during the continuous process as the product is being baked. This improves personal and fire safety, since nothing that could begin to smoulder accumulates at the bottom of the oven. The process also becomes more efficient at the same time,” explains Matti Fransas, Technical Manager at Lantmännen Cerealia. 

Rejlers was responsible for supplying the filter solution from start to finish. “The process included the study phase design and a turnkey delivery, from the building permit procedure and earthwork to the installation and commissioning of the equipment. Our partner PPT-Filter was responsible for the design and delivery of the filter unit,” says Pasi Ahvenainen, Project Manager at Rejlers. 

A turnkey delivery was an atypical approach for Lantmännen Cerealia but it proved to be a good experience. 

“We felt heard, and our wishes were incorporated into the project without any problems. The permit process and the construction itself were handled really smoothly as well,” Fransas says. “Rejlers was also responsible for procurement and managed the entire project. This covered external part-deliveries, for instance electrical, automation and piping deliveries.”

The new equipment facilitates the overall process, much to the satisfaction of the production department. Some operation-related details have still come up during use that have needed some special attention. These have been worked on together. 

“This innovation is the result of cooperation, and there’s nothing quite like it in the entire world. There are always some little things that need tweaking, though – process development doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye. This is a learning curve and something we can also draw on in future projects,” Fransas says. 

All in all, the project was a success and achieved its goals. The solution works and is actually able to remove harmful particles. 

“Our main goal was to improve personal and fire safety. Increased efficiency was a by-product: the equipment allows the operation sequences to be longer and the production line doesn’t need maintenance breaks as often as it used to.”

The implementation of the filter solution has been a long project and a considerable investment for Lantmännen Cerealia. The brainstorming and study engineering for the project began in 2018, and the delivery cooperation started at the beginning of 2020. The project was carried out during 2021. 

Lantmännen Cerealia wanted a Kotka-based partner with design and project experience. Rejlers’ name came up as a company that could have the right expertise. The decision was sealed by previous good experiences with Rejlers’ experts and solution models. 

“We were very happy with Pasi Ahvenainen and his team. We had a brainstorming session where we came up with solutions together – Rejlers provided great support and added important viewpoints to our own knowledge and experience in the field. Together, we were able to further refine the details. This is something Rejlers did very well,” Fransas summarises.