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Closeup side view of a control room at a modern industrial production line with a control person in charge keeping track of the process on a computer.
Roasting is a data-rich endeavor, but the torrents of digital information created by modern roasters and their supporting devices are not being used in a systematic way, according to Christian von Craushaar, c.e.o. of fabscale, a joint venture of Austrian-based Cropster and German roaster manufacturer Probat.
Von Craushaar describes fabscale as an intelligent data solution for large-scale coffee roasters that easily integrates third-party equipment to capture all relevant process data. The goal of integrating this data into a single digital platform is to “get the most” out of every production process in pursuit of product quality, he told STiR.
fabscale
Fabscale is a standalone business, financed with investments from the two founding companies. It was established to accommodate any coffee processing facility that will benefit from a single overview of every machine and device along the production line from green coffee receiving to roasting, packaging, and shipping.
Cropster is ideal for small and middle-sized “hands-on” roasters, not large industrial applications, explains Cropster c.e.o. Andreas Idl. Fabscale is a new cloud-based platform, not a modification of Cropster’s existing code, and it takes full advantage of the functionality of the internet. The combination results in “unprecedented quality control and traceability to the farm,” he says.
Machines like Probat’s new PX 120-kilo drum roaster are “smart equipment” with sensors and sophisticated next-generation controls, according to Sebastian Fichthorn, Probat’s head of software engineering and IT. “Capturing process data locally is one thing, but comparing different roasters to determine efficiencies in facilities makes more demanding requirements necessary, which you comfortably get with this cloud solution,” he says.
Feedback from engineers and roasters using Probat’s plant control system has been extremely helpful, says Idl. “This is very much a collaborative approach,” inspired by discussions during last year’s 150th anniversary celebration, he said.
“We studied Probat closely to gain from their knowledge and then combined knowledge from Cropster to set up fabscale’s software,” says von Craushaar. “In the typical roasting facility there are lots of isolated installations, each generating useful information, he explained but “plant-wide digital management is still quite uncommon, making it difficult for managers to view “the big picture.”
That is why we see such “huge potential,” he said.