Smarter Pumps, Safer Food

This dual functionality reduces equipment count while improving system efficiency and cleanability.

Lifecycle value drives pump selection

Processors are increasingly evaluating pumps based on total cost of ownership rather than initial purchase price. Maintenance requirements, downtime risk, and service life now play a larger role in purchasing decisions.

Older pump designs often required longer service times and were more susceptible to wear and assembly errors. Modern pumps address these issues through simplified maintenance and improved materials.

The FDA-compliant Finish Thompson AC5 centrifugal pump features a close coupled design, with standard, recessed, or high head impellers available. It mounts to both NEMA and IEC motor frames.Finish ThompsonEase of maintenance is especially important as plants face skilled labor shortages. “Managers we talk to are still struggling to find reliable labor,” Danielsson says. “They love pumps that can be disassembled without tools and can be cleaned in minutes rather than hours.”

Reliability improvements have also extended service intervals.

“Advances in seal materials, shaft stability, and precision machining have extended maintenance intervals and reduced unplanned downtime—shifting the industry focus from initial purchase price to total cost of ownership,” Dillner says.

Dave Pelinsky, Inside Sales Manager at Finish Thompson, says processors ultimately prioritize value and performance.

“When it comes to pumps, that will include the most reliable, efficient, and highest quality option available,” Pelinsky says.

Proper selection and long-term performance

Despite advances in pump design, improper pump selection remains a common source of operational issues. Selecting pumps based solely on flow requirements or purchase price can lead to premature wear, product damage, and maintenance problems.

“The most common mistake engineers make when selecting a pump is selecting a small pump and running it near or at its maximum capacity,” Danielsson says. “Pumps run best in the middle of their RPM range. When in doubt, size the pump larger and run it slower.”

Operating pumps at maximum capacity accelerates wear and shortens service life. Matching pump technology to product characteristics is equally important.

“A centrifugal pump, for example, is fine for thin liquids, but pushing a viscous product through one will damage the product and eventually the pump,” Danielsson says. “We’ve seen processors put in tomato chunks that wind up as tomato soup, an unintended outcome.”

Pelinsky emphasizes the importance of understanding fluid properties before selecting a pump.

“What is being pumped? Fluid or chemical and concentration,” Pelinsky says. “If possible, include an SDS that notes fluid properties like specific gravity, viscosity, solids, etc.” Other key considerations include flow rate, discharge pressure, power source, and system layout.

“Where are you pumping from and where are you pumping to?” Pelinsky says. “This will help define the installation, whether it has a flooded suction or requires a suction lift.”

Of course, selecting pumps based solely on initial cost can result in higher long-term expenses.

“A lower-cost pump may meet the basic flow requirement, but if it leads to premature seal failures, excessive maintenance time, or product damage, the long-term cost quickly outweighs the initial savings,” Dillner says.

Incorrect specifications can create ongoing operational costs. “We’ve seen customers spend more than $200,000 per year on seal replacements alone because the wrong type of seal was specified,” Danielsson says.

Pelinsky adds that generalized assumptions often lead to performance issues.

“The most common mistake made by a customer is taking the one-size-fits-all approach,” he says. “Depending on the pump design, there could be too much flow, too little head, or incompatible materials.” Taking a lifecycle approach to pump selection helps prevent costly corrections later.

Food safety compliance

Food safety requirements continue to drive improvements in hygienic pump design.

Fristam’s FKL Positive Displacement Pump offers a heavy-duty design for modern processing needs—including thicker shafts and balanced rotors for gentle pumping of shear sensitive products.Fristam Pumps USASolid stainless steel construction, for example, improves durability and hygiene. “Each rotor and pump housing is milled from a single billet of stainless steel, avoiding seams or weld transitions where bacteria could hide,” Danielsson says.

Simplified designs also reduce foreign material risk. “Eliminating small parts reduces the risk of foreign material entering a process stream,” he adds.

Hygienic design improvements also improve cleaning efficiency and reduce resource consumption. “As water, energy, and chemical usage come under greater scrutiny, pumps that support faster, more efficient CIP cycles will become increasingly valuable,” Dillner says.

These capabilities help processors meet sanitation requirements while improving operational efficiency.

Intelligent monitoring improves reliability

Digital integration is becoming an important factor in pump design, supporting predictive maintenance and improved reliability.

“We’re seeing greater interest in intelligent pump integration,” Dillner says. “Future designs will increasingly support condition monitoring, improved diagnostics, and better integration into plant automation systems.”

Monitoring vibration, temperature, and seal condition allows maintenance teams to identify potential issues early and schedule repairs proactively. Predictive maintenance reduces unexpected failures and improves uptime.

As Dillner explains, the pumps of the future won’t necessarily look radically different, but they will be smarter, more efficient, and even more aligned with the operational realities of modern sanitary processing.

And as production demands increase and formulations grow more complex, pumps play a critical role in maintaining product quality, sanitation, and operational efficiency.

“If there’s one overarching point to emphasize, it’s that pumps should never be viewed as commodity components,” Dillner says. “In sanitary processing, they directly impact product quality, uptime, cleaning efficiency, and overall operating cost.”

That’s why proper pump selection and maintenance require collaboration across engineering, quality, and operations teams. As such, Dillner is seeing more processors involve cross-functional teams earlier in the pump selection process.

“That collaboration leads to better long-term decisions,” he says, “because the pump affects everything from validation and documentation to maintenance labor and energy usage.”