Food industry | Ukraine

Case Study: Installation of a CARRIER 30RB Chiller for a Ukrainian Yeast and Food Ingredients Manufacturer

BALEX Company Group – manufacturing and trading holding from the East of Ukraine and high engineering HVAC load

BALEX Company Group is a group of Ukrainian companies operating as a full-fledged production and trading holding with its own facilities, rather than as a distributor. The key feature of BALEX is the control of the technological chain, starting from raw materials and ending with the finished product. This business format automatically creates higher requirements for engineering infrastructure, equipment and stability of processes at all stages of production.

Historically, the company grew out of Kharkiv yeast factory – one of the oldest industrial enterprises in the region, founded more than 100 years ago. It is this industrial foundation that has defined BALEX’s practical approach to engineering, equipment operation and long-term planning of required capacities.

Today, the BALEX Company Group has been operating as a modern group for 21 years, developing several parallel business lines, each of which is related to continuous or quasi-continuous technological processes.

The group’s key production areas include:

– Production of fillings for the bakery, confectionery and dairy industries under the Golden Mile brand, focused on large B2B orders and stable batches;

– Production of fresh pressed yeast under the Kharkov yeast brand with a history of production of over 100 years, where temperature stability directly affects the activity of the product;

– Production of dry mixes and improvers for baking and confectionery under the Optima brand, with high requirements to repeatability of recipes;

– Production of confectionery glazes and masses under the Slobozhanskaya chocolate manufactory, where stability of characteristics at all stages of processing is important.

Additional areas of the holding and infrastructure:

– Import and supply of ingredients and raw materials for the food industry, including work with European and regional suppliers;

– Own technology centre engaged in recipe development, raw material selection, seminars and customer training;

– Retail network and online shop Bekar-Konditer, focused on B2B and advanced B2C segment;

– Craft brewery Beer Legend, related to food technology and brand development within the group.

Scale of the group in terms of figures reflecting production volume:

– 21 years of systematic operation as a modern production group built around its own facilities, technological processes and a sustainable operating model with a planning horizon of years;

– 29 partner countries, including exports of finished products and stable technological co-operation, where a significant proportion of new contracts are formed on the recommendations of existing partners and customers;

– 4,393 customers in the B2B segment, predominantly from the food industry, with more than 60 per cent of orders being recurring and long-term contracts;

– Over 7,400 m² of our own warehouse space, which allows us to keep insurance stocks of raw materials and products and reduce logistics risks during peak loads;

– Several production sites, historically concentrated in Kharkiv and adjacent regions, united by common engineering infrastructure and unified standards of equipment operation;

– High share of trusted deliveries without tender stage, when new projects and production requests come by direct recommendation within the professional market.

BALEX production is historically concentrated in Kharkiv – primarily in yeast and related food segments. Even under wartime conditions, the company did not stop production, having preserved work processes and production cycles in the frontline city. Over the years, BALEX has built a sustainable export model and partner network, thanks to which the company is now perceived by the market not just as an ingredient supplier, but as a manufacturer with deep technological expertise. This is why industry research regularly places BALEX among the key players in the Ukrainian yeast and food ingredients business market, where reliability and process stability matter.

High-tech, HVAC-engineered production context:

– Continuous or near-continuous production processes with actual equipment utilisation of 22-24 hours per day, 6-7 days per week, with an acceptable level of unscheduled downtime not exceeding 0.5-1.0 % per year, corresponding to 40-80 hours per year per full production cycle;

– High sensitivity of the product to deviations of technological parameters, where a temperature shift of only ±0.8-1.2 °C or an unstable mode lasting 15-30 minutes already leads to the need for technological adjustments and the risk of batch rejection;

– Full responsibility for stability in batch production, where one process series is 1.5-4.0 T, and violation of cooling parameters at any stage affects 100% of the batch, not another volume;

– Requirement for engineering equipment to operate autonomously without constant personnel presence, with design service intervals of 8,000-10,000 hours and minimal potential and unplanned shutdowns due to stable operating modes;

– The critical role of cooling systems as an element of the process chain, where failure does not mean reduced efficiency, but process stoppage and a direct loss of raw materials and time of 5,000€-40,000€.

BALEX technical profile and load on cooling systems

– The production lines are operated 22-24 hours a day and 6-7 days a week, and shutdowns are only allowed as part of routine maintenance and not due to instability in the engineering systems;

– One process batch of yeast and ingredients is 1.5-4.0 T, with tens of tonnes of product passing through the facility during the working week, already tied to shipping schedules;

– The group’s active nomenclature includes hundreds of SKUs, many items are produced in batches of 3-7 consecutive days without process windows for manual adjustment of modes;

– Own warehouse infrastructure of over 7,400 m² requires synchronised cooling for production lines, batch holding and operational logistics;

– Engineering equipment is designed to last 8,000-10,000 hours between services, with any unplanned downtime directly translating into production schedule deviations;

– Given the scale and continuity of the processes, losses from a single cooling failure are expressed in batches rather than hours, and in the economy of the company are measured in tens of thousands of euros per calendar year.

HVAC-engineering criteria for the challenges of food production

BALEX’s request was based on a real-life operation where the chiller must operate in continuous operation with a design runtime of >9,000 h per year and an MTBF of 30,000-40,000 h. The design was only considered in a format that allows up to 90 % of service operations to be carried out by an in-house team without external contractors.

In terms of energy consumption, long-term stability was key. Solutions with energy efficiency COP ≥ 3.2-3.5 at operating load were considered, as well as limiting compressor inrush currents to no higher than 2.5-3.0 In, so as not to overload existing inlets and distribution panels.

For the compressor group and controls, priority was given to equipment with compressor nameplate life >60,000 h, an allowable number of starts <6 per hour, and control logic that reduces mechanical wear in batch production and the tight production schedule of a food processing plant. The delivery format was considered purely as a turnkey engineering solution. The availability of the hydraulic module, actual load testing and a residual life of at least 70-75 % of the nominal life were critical. A separate factor was a recommendation from food production engineers, for whom EVROPROM had already closed similar projects without modifications on site and with commissioning in 1-2 days.

Chiller selection for food production tasks

The BALEX project required equipment that would fit seamlessly into the existing process without complicating the scheme, additional design and retrofitting of the site. A combination of stable operation, moderate capacity and operation was key.

Key parameters and design features of the equipment:

– Refrigeration capacity of 58 kW, optimally covering current process loads without excessive reserve and inefficient operation at low load fractions;

– Year of manufacture 2016, which ensures modern element base, up-to-date automation and sufficient residual life for industrial operation;

– R410A refrigerant, widely available and fully serviceable, without the risk of consumables shortages and service limitations;

– Plate heat exchanger, providing fast system response and compact design without complicating the hydraulics;

– Microchannel aluminium condenser, which reduces unit weight and improves heat transfer efficiency during continuous operation;

– Two Copeland scroll compressors for even load distribution and reduced wear during continuous cycling;

– A variable frequency fan that adapts smoothly to the current load without sudden starts and surges;

– Integrated hydronic module with Grundfos pumps, allowing the chiller to be connected to the system without additional pump groups and complex installation;

– Compact dimensions and industrial design, making it easy to locate the equipment on an existing site without redesigning;

– Technical condition confirmed by EVROPROM test station, including load testing and recording of operating parameters before shipment.

In this context, CARRIER 30RBSY060B0021 PE was chosen – a compact industrial chiller manufactured in Europe, specifically oriented towards medium-sized food processing plants with continuous loading and stable operating requirements.

Economic effect of the chiller in the operating cycle of a food processing plant

From an HVAC engineering point of view, the selected chiller not only covers the cooling task, but also reduces the cumulative risks of operation, maintenance and process deviations, which in food production affect not only the economy, but also product quality, batch repeatability and output performance stability.

– Copeland’s scroll compressor group with two-level operation, providing even load distribution and reduced mechanical wear, which reduces the risk of unscheduled shutdowns and batch losses equivalent to 8,000€-25,000€ per incident;

– Microchannel aluminium condenser, which, due to its compactness and high heat exchange density, reduces energy consumption and fan group load, resulting in annual operating and maintenance savings of around 3,000€-7,000€;

– A frequency controlled fan, which operates without sudden starts and peaks, reduces inrush currents, vibration loads and acoustic wear, which reduces the frequency of service interventions and extends the life of components by thousands of hours;

– Prefabricated hydronic module based on Grundfos pumps, eliminating the need for a separate pump circuit and site retrofitting, reducing installation work, commissioning time and associated costs by at least €5,000-€10,000 before the equipment is even commissioned.

Taken together, this engineering solution reduces the likelihood of process failures, energy overruns and unplanned downtime, creating an economic benefit that, for food processing, easily reaches up to 20,000€-40,000€ per year through avoided losses rather than abstract efficiency.

Why was EVROPROM chosen for the BALEX project?

– Delivery and preparation time of 7-14 days, including inspection, documentation, logistics and on-site connection readiness;

– Fast commissioning, allowing the equipment to be up and running within 1-2 days without waiting for the typical 16-24 weeks of factory production.

– Cost reduction of up to 60-80% compared to standard factory delivery due to the absence of a long production cycle and additional mark-ups;

– Possibility to supply new equipment from stock and project reserves, where the chiller has not actually participated in operation and has zero or minimum mileage of less than 500 hours per compressor;

– Stability of technological parameters in the real cycle, where the cooling system maintains the set modes at continuous loading 22-24 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, without seasonal imbalances, ensuring the consistency of product quality and batch repeatability at changing schedules and production density;

– Engineering reliability 24/7, confirmed by load tests with control of vibrations up to 1.0-1.5 mm/s, operating pressures, coolant flow rates and automation response, allowing the equipment to be integrated into the existing process without additional stops and adjustments after start-up;

– Full EVROPROM service-engineering cycle including preliminary diagnostics, bench tests, mode adjustment, 30-40 parameters logging, preparation for connection and support after start-up and HVAC commissioning;

– Testing on 8 key operational parameters prior to shipment, recording temperatures, pressures, flow rates, currents, vibrations, ΔT, fan operation and control logic, where each unit undergoes load scenarios equivalent to project operation;

– EVROPROM’s 6-month warranty covering the compressor group, fans, sensors and automation, including post-start-up adjustment of setpoints, covering an initial period of 2,000-6,000 engine hours of intensive operation of the equipment;

– Actual reserve for operating modes, set at 40-50% of the minimum required load, allowing the system to operate without overloading in case of changes in technological scenarios, start-up of additional lines or production volume growth;

– EVROPROM‘s reputation and recommendation model, built up over almost 12 years of system operation, during which more than 1,000 units of industrial equipment have been delivered in 60 countries, with fully proven experience in food production;

BALEX project outcome

For BALEX, the introduction of the Carrier 58 kW chiller was a point but critical reinforcement of the process chain, where the stability of the parameters with 22-24 h/day operation and 6-7 days per week loading allowed to keep the process without deviations, eliminate unbalanced modes and ensure batch repeatability; thanks to EVROPROM’s service training, 8-parameter testing with 40 measurements recorded, 7-day fast-track logistics and commissioning in 2-5 hours, the company achieved 24/7 operational stability, 10-15% reduction in process losses, 18-25% increase in actual production efficiency and 20-30% seasonal optimisation of energy consumption, while avoided downtime and operational reserve ensured stable operation without incidents, confirming the quality of EVROPROM‘s solution.

Contact EVROPROM for an optimised and cost-effective choice:

🌐 evroprom.com
📞 48 799 355 595
📥 sales@evroprom.com

Author of the article:
Svyatoslav Ovcharenko, Sales Manager

9.12.2025