Latini Duct-O-Guard is a next-generation apparatus for the extensive confectionery coating industry.

Latini Duct-O-Guard is a next-generation apparatus for the extensive confectionery coating industry.

Latini-Hohberger Dhimantec Inc. stays true to its motto of excellence thru innovation. With the Duct-O-Guard we aim to eliminate the multitude of issues faced during the coating process. Our compliance with the EHS Regulations- concerning issues related to 

• Environment- Diverting flames and flumes to the chimney instead of being directed towards the production area.

• Hygiene- Helps in maintaining a cleaner production environment

• Safety,- Gas burners are placed below the pan and provide direct flame heat to the pan. Flames make direct contact with the pan and inside the guard preventing burn injuries to the machine operator. Provides a contained environment and acts as a safety guard against the chances of workplace injuries. And, 

Energy- Our advanced design blankets the heat, in turn conserving energy and power source load. 

Latini Duct-O-Guard is also equipped with Direct drive transmission, which brings about fewer moving parts to the whole equipment. We also offer an optional add-on of insulation for the application of industries that require high heat levels for their products. 

 CONCEPT & IMPACT 

 Latini is America’s oldest and largest confectionery equipment manufacturer and the only supplier to the confectionery industry providing a wide range of coating and panning equipment. Latini’s new breakthrough innovation to the confectionery industry is the Duct-O-Guard which was required in the confectionery industry for a long time. The roasted nuts and seeds industry is rapidly expanding, thanks to its applications in products such as cereal bars, trail mixes etc. and Duct-O-Guard is specially designed for manufacturers that use the Hot Panning and Roasting process for these products. Many manufacturers these days use gas burners to provide high heat to their revolving pans which carry substantial risk to the operators working in the production environment. High burning temperatures, high content of harmful gases produced by direct contact gas burners pose a serious health risk to machine operators and overseeing this concern, Latini has developed the Duct-O-Guard, keeping in mind the Operator Safety and the practicability to the product being processed and to the working environment. Duct-O-Guard, as the name suggests acts both as a guard for the pan and a duct for the harmful gases around the pan which keeps the direct flame of the burner exposed only to the pan surface and exhausts the gases out through the duct. In the confectionery industry, products such as honey roasted nuts, glazed pecans and many other products are manufactured using revolving pans with openly exposed gas burners and Latini aims to eliminate the risk involved in the production process for such products. 

EFFECTIVENESS 

We operated a traditional pan with a flame burner and in the other production room, we operated Duct-O-Guard. Running the trial in a different environment helped to differentiate the results. The room with the traditional system was filled with smelly burned gas even when the exhaust was working and the heat of the burner was preventing the operator to operate the machine, whereas in the room with the Duct-O-Guard, the harmful gases were able to escape quickly from the duct and the heat was also uniformly spread out between the guard and the pan instead of affecting the operator while working. Our aim was to develop a product which could be more efficient and safe, which was proven in the results. There were no harmful gases in the room with the Duct-O-Guard and we were also able to see that the same products with the same recipe were prepared faster in the Duct-O-Guard than the traditional pan. While solving the problem due to the heating part of the pan, we were able to observe that Duct-O-Guard also acts as a safety guard around the coating pan, revolving at high speed. We also noticed that the sound levels in the Duct-O-Guard were far less than the traditional coating pan through which we were able to solve the noise pollution problem of coating pans.

VALUE 

Latini’s Duct-O-Guard is unparalleled with the current coating pans available in the worldwide market. While most brands compensate on their material quality and the “bare-minimum” attitude, Latini continues to abide by their motto of "Excellence thru Innovation" and for us, innovation also encompasses the wide array of employee safety, environmental and atmospheric impact. 

Without there being a drastic jump in the cost comparison between the classic Coating pan and the Duct-O-Guard, Latini has avoided charging a hefty amount for this innovation. We believe in making our equipment accessible to both small and large companies without compromising on the quality and integrity of the equipment. 

This piece of equipment was precisely designed keeping in mind the concerns of the coating and panning industry. We strongly trust that, with ever-evolving times, confectionery companies will be more considerate towards operator safety and to the atmospheric impact on operators’ productivity. Operators will feel much more accessible and productive to use the Duct-O-Guard than another coating pan technology due to its safety and efficient features.

The return of investment is another concern in almost every business and especially in the confectionery industry, where more automation is required to fulfil production needs. In innovations such as Duct-O-Guard, we have observed that with the use of the simple working principle, the production capacities of the manufacturer can be increased by using fewer resources such as electricity, natural gas, labour time etc. which in turn lead to higher ROI. With extensive research and using the hi-tech machine simulation software, we at Latini have made the Duct-O-Guard more reliable and efficient leading to less money spent on heating resources and spare parts.

COLLABORATION 

As mentioned above, Duct-O-Guard has sprouted to origin because of the collaboration that Latini-Hohberger Dhimantec has with its customers. With our countless consulting visits to the leading confectionery manufacturing companies in North America, we began to construct an application keeping in mind the concept - to provide a safer and reliable system for the hot panning and roasting industry. Latini being the only manufacturer in the industry manufacturing Traditional pans, Automatic Coating Pans, Chocolate and Gummy Belt coaters  - we embraced the opportunity to bring something new to the table. Prospecting the need of the confectionery industry, we wanted a solution that can revolutionize the panning industry which is mostly concentrated in the North American market. We were able to observe the concerns of the customers using traditional roasting pans which were not efficient and safe to use and developed Duct-O-Guard which is more hygienic, safe and efficient and solves the problems of the manufacturers in the panning segment.

SUSTAINABILITY 

Latini-Hohberger Dhimantec’s legacy of over 95 years focuses on innovating high-quality precisely engineered equipment that stays operational for decades. It comes as no surprise to us when a multinational company all the way from South America contacts us for spare parts of a machine that we sold to them over 5 decades ago. Our mission is to have long-standing equipment, matching our company’s equally enduring legacy by innovating the equipment technology which is reliable and durable for the long run. 

The Duct-O-Guard is a very durable piece of equipment and its efficiency doesn’t dull after a period of time due to its simple mechanism. In the long run, the Duct-O-Guard will keep fulfilling the production needs of the manufacturer without affecting or increasing the use of resources involved. 

Observing the environmental factors, where a lot of resources such as electricity and natural gas is being used is very concerning and can only be resolved by using innovations and automation which utilise fewer resources and are more efficient. While developing the Duct-O-Guard, we were able to increase its efficiency by designing it in such a way so that it utilises fewer natural resources in the production environment which is why the Duct-O-Guard is environmentally sustainable.

Duct-O-Guard has various beneficial features out of which safety is a very important feature that contributes to a positive impact on operators working on the equipment. Increasing the safety of the operator by preventing the flow of harmful gases to the environment, Guarding the burners to prevent burn injuries, Guarding the high speed revolving pan, Reducing sound in the production environment are some safety features that positively contribute to the people working on the equipment.