India, June 3 -- It might sound extreme - but for many food and beverage manufacturers that don't use a pigging system, that's the reality.
In a world where margins are tight, sustainability is essential, and every drop counts, pigging has quietly become one of the most effective ways to reduce waste, cut costs, and increase profitability.
So, what exactly is the return on investment (ROI) of a pigging system? And why are so many leading food and beverage companies choosing to invest?
What's Pigging Technology?
Pigging systems - more accurately known as Liquid Product Recovery Technology - use a specialist projectile (known as a 'pig') along with other equipment to recover residual product from inside pipelines.
The pig is propelled through the pipe by a liquid or gas, typically compressed air, CO2, or nitrogen, pushing the remaining product towards the filler, storage vessel, or the next stage of processing.
Modern pigging systems are hygienic, safe, and highly efficient. They are particularly valuable in industries such as food and beverage manufacturing, where product integrity and cleanliness are critical.
Advanced Liquid Product Recovery systems, such as those provided by HPS Product Recovery Solutions, are specially designed for hygienic processing environments.
These systems are capable of recovering up to 99.5% of product from full pipelines, reducing waste, speeding up changeovers, and improving overall production efficiency.
Key ROI Drivers
1. Increased Product Recovery
In many production lines, a significant amount of product can remain in the pipeline after a transfer. Without pigging, this product is typically flushed to waste during cleaning or changeovers.
With a pigging system, up to 99.5% of this product can be recovered and sold, rather than discarded. This translates directly into increased yield and reduced waste.
For example, if your production line loses 50 litres of product per changeover, and you have 4 changeovers per day, that's 200 litres lost daily.
Over a year, this adds up to more than 70,000 litres of valuable product wasted.
Recovering this product could save you thousands, or even hundreds of thousands or Pounds, Dollars, or Euros every year, depending on the value of your product.
2. Less Waste, Lower Disposal Costs
Pigging reduces product waste across all types of liquids, from sauces, dips, to spirits and syrups.
By minimising the volume of product left in pipelines during changeovers and cleaning, pigging cuts down on the amount of material that needs to be disposed of. This lowers effluent treatment costs and supports sustainability targets.
3. Faster Changeovers and Cleaning
Product changeovers are a critical source of downtime in food and beverage processing. Traditional cleaning and line purging methods can be time-consuming and use large volumes of water and cleaning chemicals.
Pigging speeds up this process by clearing most of the previous product from the pipeline, making cleaning quicker and more efficient. This reduces downtime and enables faster product changeovers, boosting line availability and productivity.
Some HPS clients report up to 90% reduction in changeover time, which in turn increases daily production capacity.
4. Lower Cleaning Chemical and Water Usage
Because the line is nearly product-free after pigging, less cleaning solution and rinse water is required. Not only does this reduce costs, but it also minimises the environmental impact of cleaning processes.
This is especially beneficial for companies with strict sustainability KPIs.
In many cases, pigging systems can lower water and chemical usage by 20-50%, helping companies meet sustainability KPIs while improving operational efficiency.
Beyond Savings: The Bigger Picture
The cost savings from pigging are impressive, but that's just the start. Pigging delivers a wide range of additional benefits such as:
Better product quality - due to reduced cross-contamination risks.
Improved traceability - essential for managing allergens and meeting compliance.
Greater production flexibility - quicker changeovers make frequent SKU changes easier.
More efficient use of resources - reduced waste and downtime mean your equipment and materials go further.
Why More Manufacturers are Investing in Pigging
With inflation, labour challenges, and rising pressure to decarbonise, food and beverage manufacturers can't afford inefficiencies.
That's why many are exploring pigging technology as a way to address these challenges and improve overall operational efficiency. Pigging offers a fast ROI with payback often under 12 months, and continues to generate measurable benefits year after year.
Choose the Experts
With over 30 years of experience, HPS is a trusted provider of Advanced Liquid Product Recovery (Pigging) Technology.
Their systems are specially designed for hygienic applications and tailored to each customer's unique process needs. Unlike off-the-shelf or DIY systems, HPS solutions are engineered for reliability, performance, safety, and long-term ROI.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from FoodTechBiz.