Monitoring the market continuously is the only way to stay one step ahead of it: Mini Motor has an eye on pharmaceuticals and the food industry.
In a rough sea, the greatest sailors are able to size up the waves in advance and then steer the ship safely while staying on course.
In the final analysis, the industrial market does not differ much from the seafaring example we’ve just described. There are tall waves to take into account, manoeuvres to be completed, directions to take and decisions to make, without ever losing sight of the goal to be reached.
That’s what Mini Motor has been doing for some time (and plans to continue doing) on the market of motors made of stainless steel, by designing and producing an ever wider range of IP69K products.
Although this market is still showing significantly low numbers, on the order of 15,000 units sold per year around the world, the growth trend it is enjoying is worthy of note.
More and more often, the regulations that now govern and will govern standards of hygiene and safety will increasingly regard components made of stainless steel, especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries. And Mini Motor plans to remain ready to take full advantage of the business opportunities which appear on the horizon.
Hygiene and safety are the order of the day, because these are the factors that are driving the demand for motors made of stainless steel.
In fact, classic non-sealed motors have construction features that risk contaminating the products they come in contact with. For example, dirt can accumulate in the edges and gaps on the guards that cover these motors, which is why they will gradually be eliminated.
Also, in the food and pharmaceutical industries, certain processing steps and machine cleaning procedures put materials to the test: water at 90°C and pressures exceeding 100 bar, acid and alkaline washes that can attack paint, etc.
Right from the start, the Mini Motor IP69K product line was designed to conform to guidelines mandated by the E.H.E.D.G. – The European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group – for the design of machinery for the food industry. Our product line is offered to customers in two stainless-steel solutions: the 304 and also the 316L, which is even more resistant to corrosion and chemical detergents. As a result, IP69K products are fully able to withstand and not be affected by the most extreme stresses, whether they are chemical or mechanical in nature.
Generally speaking, all the components of Mini Motor IP69K motors are certified to be suitable for coming into contact with the raw materials that are processed with the aid of motors, such as meat, pasta and foodstuffs in general. An additional advantage is H classification of the windings, since it represents the allowed difference in temperature between the motor and the external environment during operation.
As further proof of the direction taken by Mini Motor and its intention to continue investing in stainless steel motors, the company will participate in IFFA – the largest trade fair in the meat processing sector – which will bring together its most important players at Frankfurt AM Main on May 4-9. Many of them have been taking interest in this market for some time.
According to mechanical engineer Alessandro Ciccolella, “The stainless steel motor market is one of the most interesting markets that are opening up for the company, because of its inherently high level of innovation and the number of potential fields of application for its products. Everything that has been done in this direction, now and in the future, is the product of Mini Motor’s ability to chart a course over the sea of industrial automation, with an eye on seeking new horizons“.
