The level sensor VEGAPULS 64 secures the raw material supply in the cosmetics industry

A cosmetic product has undergone many tests before it comes onto the market and nothing or hardly anything in the actual process may change. This also applies for the by-products which are manufactured in large quantities at the site in Fogars de la Selva, a Catalonian district of Barcelona, under the name Croda Ibérica, responsible for the Spanish and Portuguese market.

Croda Ibérica is therefore grateful for every process and every measuring point that works reliably over many years. The company has been working with VEGA Spain for more than 10 years. The whole factory houses about 200 sensors of different product families including pressure transducers, guided radar sensors, different limit detectors for liquids and solids as well as differential pressure transducers.

The VEGAPULS 64 level sensor launched onto the market last year is also in use at the site and demonstrates its advantages in the measurement of a mixture of special detergent recipes and alcohols. Here, the sensors measure the raw material supplies in three tanks with heights of two, three and five metres. The result of the measurement is decisive for the further processes because the end product of this raw material accounts for about a quarter of the whole production at the factory. Because the level sensor VEGAPULS 64 measures without contact with the help of radar technology, there are automatically fewer problems with product deposits and the radar measuring technology is also ideal from a hygiene point of view. The front-flush, encapsulated antenna, for example, can be cleaned optimally and is insensitive to the extreme conditions of the SIP and CIP processes.

Although the structure of the tank was very complex, the conversion and installation of the level sensor were still very quick. Since the existing process connection could be used, the new sensor was simply installed on the available connection. This procedure has already proven effective in other applications in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry. Plants and apparatuses have usually, after all, gone through acceptance testing and later constructional modifications are only possible at great expense.

In addition to the reliable measured values, Croda Ibérica values the professional knowledge of the VEGA technician above all. They have had the same contact for years who responds quickly to calls and also has a solution to hand even in the event of unforeseen incidents.