Pilot Plant

The DDR Pilot Plant can be very useful from a financial or timing perspective, when you’re ready to test any new food product that can be processed on a drum dryer.

We also have the capability of test drying pharmaceuticals and chemicals such as polymers, suited  to drum drying on single drum dryers or double drum dryers.

DDR Pilot Plant at The Starting Block in Hart Michigan

Test your product at the DDR Pilot Plant. Improve the characteristics of an existing product or develop a new product for drum drying.

At the DDR Pilot Plant, you will be able to:

DDR Pilot Plant 8 x 10 Dryer

8” x 10” Double Drum Dryer for Quick Testing

•    Do testing that will allow both of our teams to watch your product go through the entire system.
•    See your product made into slurry, and then pumped over to our dryer.
•    Observe what your product does in the puddle or determine what level of slurry is required in the puddle.
•    Observe how your product comes off the drum and the knife blade.
•    Observe what your product does in the screw conveyors through a flaker.
•    Determine if the product can be air conveyed.
•    Observe what the reaction is in the bag house before it comes out the rotary valve to a package.
•    Perform additional product observation.
•    Decide if additional sizing is necessary for the final product version.
One of the DDR Pilot Plants has been installed at The Starting Block conveniently located just off Michigan Highway M31 in Hart, Michigan. The Starting Block is West Michigan’s Non-Profit Regional Kitchen Incubator and Entrepreneurial Center Located in Hart, Oceana County.  Drum Drying Resources is licensed at this facility by the Michigan Department of Agriculture Food & Dairy Division as a “Wholesale Food Processor”.  Product that is made at the pilot plant can be used for test marketing to the public.

24" x 36" Single Drum Dryer

24” x 36” Single Drum Dryer with Three (3) Applicator Rolls

24" x 24" Double Drum Dryer at Pilot Plant

24” x 24” Double Drum Dryer for Larger Testing Runs

DDR Pilot Plant Packaging Room

Separate Packaging Room

With the valuable information from your testing at our pilot plant, we can then design and build the right dryer with the right systems for your product or products. The pilot plant also allows us to develop and test new drum dryer concepts that will benefit you, the customer. Drum dryers are utilized  across many industries such as at food, chemical, pharmaceutical and other similar companies,  to test foods, chemicals and other products.  We have procedures and testing regulations in place to assure that food products are not tested on the same drum dryers as chemical or pharmaceutical products by utilizing separate pilot plant locations.

We can do testing in the following areas:
  • Food drying and food processing
  • Pharmaceutical or Nutraceutical products suited to drum drying

Please  email us or give us a call at 231-924-1000 for more information regarding the pilot plant or equipment at Drum Drying Resources. We would be happy to schedule a testing time for your company.

For more information on the Starting Block’s services and capabilities, please visit their website, www.startingblock.biz.