Excela™ – Electronic Switches in Sugar Processing Plants

Challenge

Sugarcane is the world’s largest crop by volume, with nearly 2 billion tons produced annually. The industrial sugar market alone is expected to reach $45.6 billion by 2027, growing at a rate of 6.5% per year. This explosion of growth is putting extra pressure on producers to maximize output at plants operating with older technology and aging machinery.

In a typical sugar processing plant, electromechanical switches are used in as many as 40 different locations. Presses, shredders, boilers, cookers, washers and other equipment are all part of the rigorous and complex job of sugar processing – a job that’s done under tough conditions. Sugar cane is wet and muddy. Mills are typically located in humid, hot climates. The machines themselves produce heavy vibrations and shocks. Many of these plants are using mechanical switches with moving parts, which are already susceptible to breaking down, to monitor the various steps of the process. Not an ideal solution for an industry where plant uptime is everything.

Sugar cane needs to be processed within a very narrow window after harvesting, making it critical for plants to be operating at maximum uptime during harvest season. Switches play an important role in making that possible by controlling line flow and monitoring critical temperatures and pressures in boilers, heaters, and other equipment.

Solution

Sugar processing plants need switches that require little maintenance and are highly reliable even in tough environments. Powered electronic switches and transmitters deliver that and more – but rewiring an entire plant to upgrade to electronic switches or transmitters is cost prohibitive. The solution? An electronic switch that can drop into existing mechanical switch infrastructure, like Excela.

The patented Excela switch is a proven two-wire drop-in solution that gives plant operators an affordable upgrade to electronic performance—without the need for retrofitting or rewiring. This high-quality electronic switch, available in pressure, differential pressure, or temperature models, installs like a mechanical switch but delivers the advanced performance and intelligence of solid-state technology. In fact, the Excela delivers everything sugar processing plant operators need for better performance at an affordable price:

• Two wire design allows for easy integration to your PLC,
  DCS or I/O card with lower total installation costs
• Simple programming and precision settings for better
  operational control and performance
• LCD display and red/green LED indicator lights provide
  visual status of operational performance
• Rugged, solid state design delivers reliable performance,
  low maintenance, and lower cost of ownership