Structural change safari at Pfeifer & Langen

Did you know how German sugar cubes differ from French sugar cubes?

In November, the Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier organized a tour of the Pfeifer & Langen sugar factory in Jülich. After being provided with the appropriate protective equipment, the group was first given a short presentation by Florian Kipping, Head of Technology, on the company’s history and the process steps in the sugar industry. Afterwards, we followed the various starting and intermediate products from a huge pile of sugar beet to the packaged sugar cube. In addition to the enormous masses and volumes of several thousand tons of beet processed daily, the technology in process control and the degree of automation in handling and packaging were also impressive.

Energy and sustainability are also key issues at Pfeifer & Langen. For example, the company uses multi-stage heat exchangers to concentrate the thin juice into thick juice and processes beet peels into sugar packets in an innovative way. The logistical feats of endless columns of trucks bringing the fresh beets from the field, delivering side streams such as soil back to the field and the 45 and 65,000 ton storage silos for the final crystalline sugar were also impressive. As the campaign only lasts a few months, this storage capacity is needed to supply customers with sugar all year round.

And if you are still wondering what the answer to the initial question is: the French cube is rectangular and twice the size, but the sugar is the same.

 

Further dates for the structural change safari can be found here (German only): Strukturwandel-Safari | Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier GmbH |