MBRF shifts vacuum maintenance to condition-based service model

MBRF is tightening control over vacuum performance across 27 animal-protein plants in Brazil by moving from reactive repairs to scheduled diagnostics, spare-parts planning and coordinated service with Busch. The change is meant to improve packaging stability, reduce unplanned downtime and make maintenance costs more predictable.

Why it matters: - Vacuum evacuation directly affects residual oxygen levels, packaging stability and line throughput in high-volume food production. - For a network like MBRF’s, small changes in pump condition can ripple into product quality, plant availability and maintenance cost planning. - The service shift is aimed at reducing variability across distributed production sites and improving predictability in day-to-day operations.

What happened: - MBRF and Busch moved from a spare-parts-driven maintenance model to a structured service contract for vacuum systems used in Brazil. - The arrangement covers MBRF’s installed base of R5 rotary vane vacuum pumps, MINK claw vacuum pumps and vacuum boosters. - The network includes 27 production sites in Brazil. - The service concept adds regular vacuum checks, coordinated field service, predefined parts structures and spare pumps.

The details: - Packaging chambers must be evacuated to a target pressure before sealing. - The evacuation cycle must stay within a defined time window to protect throughput. - Product type, moisture, vapors and other process variations change the gas load on the vacuum equipment. - Wear, contamination and incomplete maintenance can show up as unstable evacuation behavior. - Routine tasks such as oil and filter changes remain with MBRF’s maintenance teams. - Busch verifies those tasks through inspections and diagnostics. - More demanding work, including overhauls, is handled in the field or at Busch’s facility depending on the case. - Spare parts are positioned at the customer site in advance. - Critical units are identified by site, and maintenance actions are planned together with MBRF. - The approach links equipment condition, service execution and production planning.

Between the lines: - The shift reflects a move away from reactive maintenance and toward condition-based service. - That matters because the actual pump condition was not being assessed systematically across the network under the earlier setup. - MBRF can use the new diagnostics to forecast maintenance and operating costs with more accuracy. - The model is designed for industrial operations where performance depends on stable vacuum equipment across multiple plants. - Everton Bernardi, responsible for Engineering and Maintenance at MBRF, said the partnership has been collaborative, transparent and aligned with business needs across the company’s units.

What’s next: - Busch will continue regular inspections and diagnostics to flag unstable performance before it becomes an interruption. - MBRF will continue planning maintenance with replacement units and coordinated service support. - The contract model is positioned for use in other distributed production networks with variable operating conditions.

The bottom line: - MBRF is using condition-based service to make vacuum performance more predictable, packaging more stable and plant operations easier to plan.