RAPS Invests $1.67m on Raw Material Preparation Facility
18 May 2017 --- RAPS has invested around $1.67m (€1.5m) in new technology at its German headquarters. Working with a renowned plant manufacturer, a state-of-the-art facility for raw material preparation has come to life. Offering a wider selection of cleaning methods and improved contaminant detection, the company can now handle a broader array of raw materials at higher throughput speeds.
With its new plant, RAPS is focusing on physical cleaning technology to achieve maximum raw material purity. Trials have shown that this method enables even the smallest foreign bodies to be identified and eliminated. As well as metal, glass, stones and bones, which are usually detected using X-ray equipment, RAPS’ innovative solution can also pick up wooden and plastic foreign objects and, at the same time, reduce raw material wastage. 
Sascha Thaens, Director Sales Management & Strategy at RAPS GmbH & Co. KG spoke to FoodIngredientsFirst: “Food safety is at the heart of this new plant. One of the most important requirements during development for us was the implementation of cutting-edge contaminant detection capabilities. The goal is always to identify and eliminate all foreign substances.”
What demands are you seeing from consumers? “Product safety is, of course, a fundamental expectation when it comes to foods. Advanced technology enables manufacturers and suppliers alike to improve overall quality standards,” explains Thaens. “With our recent investment, we decided to make use of the most modern technology to further improve our performance in that field. Holding top-level food certificates such as higher level IFS Food Standard and BRC Food (level A) means that we were already working at a high standard. As a leading supplier of ingredients, we feel it’s important to comply with the highest possible standards when it comes to quality and raw material purity — requirements that we meet with the new plant.”
He adds: “Furthermore, we recognize that consumers are becoming more and more health conscious; as such, they’re increasingly looking for products that address those needs without sacrificing indulgence. Our portfolio contains the appropriate “tools” to help our customers meet those market trends, be it solutions for vegans, tasty salt-reduced products and “free from” or clean label ingredients.”
“A transparent supply chain is crucial to our customers,” claims Thaens. “The worst-case scenario for a manufacturer is that harmful products reach the shelves. In line with standards such as HACCP, manufacturers must be able to retrace the source and trail of all ingredients and processing steps to identify any potential danger spots — and assign responsibilities when a lack of quality is observed.”
How will you ensure continuous high standard and traceability? “The most important step is sourcing: high quality products begin with good quality raw materials. To make sure that every raw material meets our exacting standards regarding quality, product safety and availability, we visit most of our suppliers on site and audit them according to a comprehensive catalogue of requirements. Strictly defined standards of quality for farming, harvesting and preparation ensure maximum quality and safety.”
Thaens comments further: “When it comes to the preparation of the raw materials, we have full traceability because now we have this processing step completely in our own hands and hence under internal control as no external contractors are involved.”
Due to the diversity of the raw materials it deals with, the company had previously outsourced some of the purification processes to external contractors. Now, however, thanks to its investment, RAPS is able to handle everything in-house, meaning it can also meet stricter quality control criteria. “We work with natural raw materials and, as such, have to cope with fluctuations in quality and supply. The more our customers’ quality requirements increase, the more complex the processing procedures become. It is therefore essential that the technology we use keeps pace with these demands,“ says Florian Knell, Managing Director of RAPS GmbH & Co. KG. “It was a conscious decision to bring all of our raw material preparation in-house as we wanted to have complete control over every important processing step. In doing so, we can ensure continuous high standards, maximum transparency and full traceability for our customers.”
Frank Kühne, Chairman of the Advisory Board and Main Shareholder of RAPS GmbH & Co. KG, adds: “This investment is integral to keeping the company future-proof and competitive. These kinds of corporate decisions are geared to ensuring a long-term outlook for our German headquarters and the RAPS group in general. I am delighted that the plant is now operational – enabling us to react more flexibly to both market changes and individual customer demands.”
by Elizabeth Green
