Selecting, Retrofitting, and Integrating Used Equipment

Evaluating for Retrofit Success. After locating suitable equipment, confirm that the retrofit will be economically viable and, following that, determine which party is best equipped to carry out equipment changes. The final steps include updating control panels as necessary and performance testing the retrofitted devices to ensure they conform to all standards and expectations originally specified.

Used equipment normally requires retrofitting to meet safety or quality criteria, or both. Determine whether the capital savings of purchasing the used equipment over purchasing new equipment will be sufficient to cover the upgrades needed to meet safety and quality standards.

In some cases, it’s adequate for the initial assessment to have the vendor send photos of the equipment under consideration. Other cases require sending a team or representative to the vendor’s site to assess equipment in person.

If the used equipment passes the first retrofit test, determine whether the seller can make the required upgrades. If not, the second alternative is to send a request for proposal to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to refurbish/upgrade the used equipment to bring it up to the new standards. If the OEM has a new model of the equipment, request the specs on the new model and a quote for the cost of upgrading the used equipment to the standards based on success criteria. Once the OEM agrees to perform the upgrade, a warranty on the equipment should be provided. As a third alternative, an in-house group can refurbish the used equipment.

Used equipment must be integrated into an overall control scheme for the production. If the used equipment includes a control panel that is outdated or does not match the receiving plant’s standard brand, the upgrade can be expensive. The upgrade should also be one that can be maintained by the plant and one with an acceptable life expectancy.

As listed above, options for upgrading the control panel include having the upgrade performed by the seller, by the OEM (preferable), or by a control panel shop that can swap out the old controls for new. Lastly, equipment integration requires adapting overall line controls to manage the flow from one operation to another.

Many food processors are incorporating a CIP system into equipment to clean piping and tanks, whether for a new system or for a retrofit of an existing system. In this case, the retrofitted equipment must be cleanable with a CIP skid as opposed to hose and hand scrubbing. Modifications to tanks may be required to eliminate “shadows” created by agitators and pipe penetrations and nozzles that leave debris or film that would be missed by the spray balls. Moreover, open-top tanks need to have domed tops added to protect surfaces outside the tank from overspray.

Acceptance testing, the final step, sometimes gets overlooked in a fast-track project in the rush to get the line up and running. The best practice is a risk evaluation before the equipment is shipped to the plant. If it is a tank, ask the vendor to send photos. If it is a filler, be well advised to send production and maintenance teams to go through a factory acceptance test and require the vendor to run it at production conditions. If other factors don’t allow for performance testing at the vendor site, a site-acceptance test (running the test at production conditions) can still be performed in lieu of a factory-acceptance test.

Saving Time, Trouble, and Money. If you need help navigating this process, select a process engineering consultant that offers added value. Evaluate firms for their history with various OEMs and other vendors, and ability to leverage these relationships as the project team evaluates the option of used equipment versus new.