K-Tron Collaborating on Pasta Processing Seminar

K-Tron Process Group, in collaboration with key suppliers of equipment and instrumentation to the food processing industry, including Demaco, Northern Crops Institute, and DeMari Pasta Dies, announces the presentation of a joint food pasta processing seminar, “Pasta Quality & Extrusion Technology”, to be held at the Hyatt Place San Antonio/Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX, February 9-11, 2011.

This three-day course provides a comprehensive presentation of basic and advanced pasta extrusion and processing. It will offer a detailed overview of all critical aspects of pasta extruder operations in theory and in practice. The seminar will provide detailed information on how to make quality pasta and a sound theoretical understanding of the dynamics of what is happening in a pasta extruder.

Topics to be presented include:

* Manufacturing Quality Pasta - focusing on the primary and secondary infeed systems, mixing, extruder designs, and pasta machine maintenance. Presentation title, “How to Choose the Proper Feeder Technology for your Pasta Production Process” focuses on feeder selection, technologies, volumetric vs. gravimetric feeding, and their effect on mixer/extruder performance and refill options available.

* Basics of Pasta Extrusion: Dr. Leon Levine will introduce elementary concepts in the rheology of materials. This knowledge will be used to develop the principles that describe flow in pasta dies and extrusion systems. The principles will be used to illustrate key points on die and systems design: The required precision in die machining and the design considerations when extruding complicated pieces. The principles describing capacity and energy input for a pasta extruder will be discussed and these principles will be used to discuss the implications of screw design, stability of output flow, and scale up. Dr Levine will also review the design and flow of dough within sheet forming/rolling systems

* Raw Materials and Pasta Dies:
Raw materials for pasta from the field to the extruder will be discussed, along with a discussion about how to specify raw materials that meet product objectives and the requisite quality control methodologies required insuring product consistency. Alternative raw materials used for gluten-free pasta and other blends will also be covered.

Presentation covers how die inserts are designed to deliver a specific product shape along with how to specify product shapes for best results. Detailed methodologies for equalizing extrusion rate across the face of the die are covered in detail

Presenters include:

Joe DeFrancisci, managing partner of DeFrancisci Machine Co. LLC - Demaco. DeFrancisci brings more than 25 years of pasta industry experience both as a technology provider and as a pasta maker. He began his career as an apprentice, learning to service and operate pasta machinery at Demaco’s Brooklyn, NY facilities and in the Ronzoni pasta factory in Long Island City. Along with partner Bob Ronzoni, DeFrancisci is the founder and former president of Pasta Montana LLC, one of the preeminent pasta manufacturing operations in the western U.S.

Sharon Nowak, global business development manager, K-Tron Process Group. Nowak is a recognized leading expert in the fields of major, minor, and micro ingredient feeding and material handling for food processes, and in food process engineering as well as sanitary equipment design. The K-Tron Process Group, comprised of K-Tron feeding equipment and K-Tron Premier conveying equipment, has specialized for more than 100 years in high accuracy feeding, metering, material handling, and pneumatic conveying of powders and bulk materials to mixing and extrusion systems.

Leon Levine, president of Leon Levine and Associates, a consulting firm. He holds a BS and MS in chemical engineering from The City College of New York and a PhD in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Purdue. He has more than 40 years of food process and product development and engineering experience. This includes employment with Pillsbury and Procter and Gamble. In addition to his industrial experience, he has lectured on food processing at the University of Minnesota and regularly teaches continuing education courses about food process scale-up, extrusion, and food engineering for the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Rutgers University, the AIChE, The American Institute of Baking and private clients.

Brian Sorenson is the director of the Northern Crops Institute in Fargo, ND. In addition to managing the day-to-day affairs of NCI, Sorenson organizes and teaches a variety of educational programs to support regional crops such as durum wheat. Brian has more than 18 years of product and process development experience and is a member of the American Association of Cereal Chemists and the Association of Operative Millers. Sorenson is the chairman of the Wheat Quality Council, has a BS in Chemistry from Mayville State University, and an MS in Cereal Chemistry from North Dakota State University.

Gabriele Cannata is founder and director of DeMari Pasta Dies, a die manufacturer located in Dracut, MA. Cannata studied die making in Italy and served as lead extrusion and die specialist for Borden Pasta. 

For more information about this event or to register, visit www.ktron.com/pasta.