The WIGRATEC cluster enters the next round and receives funding under the program "Internationalisierung von Spitzenclustern, Zukunftsprojekten und vergleichbaren Netzwerken" sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The regional cluster "fluidized bed and granulation technology" (WIGRATEC) is an alliance of mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) or companies with an SME-like structure that has existed for about ten years. The core competencies of the cluster are the development, construction, operation, and marketing of turnkey production plants and associated technologies for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, as well as partly for food technology, which operate on the principle of a fluidized bed.
A growth market with great potential is the agricultural sector, i.e. the production and distribution of food and feed. There is additional demand, especially in industrialized nations, for so-called "healthy and functional foods", i.e. foods that promote well-being and good health beyond their nutritional value. A classic example of this is the addition of active probiotic cultures in dairy products (cheese, yogurt, etc.). In order to meet these and future requirements, further progress in the treatment and processing of foods is also necessary for the industrial nations. For the production of safe and functional food and feed, not only knowledge about the manufacturing processes is necessary, but also detailed knowledge about the structure and interactions between the individual ingredients and components.

Combined agglomeration technology for food (COAGG)

Agglomeration is a key technology in the food and feed industry, transforming sticky powders into easy-to-administer instant particles. Currently, two major routes in the production of agglomerated particles are popular, by spray drying or fluidized bed agglomeration. However, these two processes are subject to some limitations.
The aim of this project is the introduction of a new processing technology that combines spray drying with a spray fluidized bed treatment for the production of food agglomerates. The new process aims to improve existing technologies in terms of the quality of products to be produced and production economics.
The project consortium consists of two national, WIGRATEC cluster partners:
Pergande Group GmbH, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg;
and two partners from the target region (The Netherlands):
Agglomix, Bodec.
This structure gives the project the range necessary to make it generic in regard to possible applications and future markets, whereas at the same time remaining lean for focused and efficient work. It feeds the project with interesting applications of immediate interest and guarantees all necessary experience and expertise at a high level.

Advanced processing of mixed-ingredient food particles (ADMIX)

The food and feed industry face the challenge of developing products that both promote and facilitate the health of consumers. The ease of use results in products in the form of powders or granules that can be quickly and easily converted into, for example, drinks or soups by the addition of water. The promotion of health requires that such products can be adapted to the specific nutritional needs of consumer groups (e.g. infants or the elderly) and, if necessary, supplemented by substitution of conventional ingredients by new and more valuable components.
The goal of this project is to enable flexibility in the selection of ingredients while maintaining product quality at a controllable high level and guaranteeing production efficiency. Therefore, a process should be developed, which can combine processes such as spray drying, granulation and mixing in one stage.
The project consortium consists of two national partners from the WIGRATEC cluster:
Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg;
and two partners from the target region (The Netherlands):
Nestlé Netherlands, Bodec.
This is a lean structure for efficient project work that brings together all the expertise necessary for the success of the project and opens great opportunities within the general concept of WIGRATEC for internationalization in the Netherlands and beyond.