As the largest producer and exporter of coffee, Brazil harvests around 50 million bags per year, which corresponds to almost 1/3 of the entire world production. However, more than its quantitative results, Brazilian coffee is recognized for the quality of the fruits produced. Appreciated for its unique aroma and flavor, Brazilian coffee is found in more than 120 countries around the world, with the United States, Germany, Italy and Japan as the main consumers.
In addition to its distinctive characteristics, Brazilian coffee is also recognized for its advanced production process. Over time, Brazilian producers have developed special cultivation techniques, investing in technologies that have enabled the product to conquer the global market. Today, part of the processing process for many coffee growers is automated through solutions developed by Altus.
The tradition of Minas Gerais coffee
Três Corações, one of the most traditional clients we serve in the coffee sector, has been using some of our main PLC series in its production processes since the 1990s. Altus product technology is present in several of the company's factories in the North and Northeast of Brazil. In Eusébio/CE, the products from the Nexto Series, our most advanced line of programmable controllers, and the BluePlant software, a solution for process supervision, are responsible for controlling the raw coffee system, blend scale and roaster feeding.
At the Manaus/AM factory, the Nexto PLC is paired with BluePlant to control the coffee roasters. In addition to these two, another Três Corações unit that uses Altus solutions is the one in Natal/RN. There, an NX3004 CPU, together with an HMI from the X2-BASE Series, is responsible for controlling the factory's chocolate agglomeration process, while an FBs CPU together with another X2-BASE HMI controls the density of the coffee at the exit of the grinding process.
Strengthening the expansion of São Paulo coffee
In addition to the giant from Minas Gerais, the technology in our products also helps the São Paulo coffee industry to increase its quality and productivity levels. In 2019, Café Caiçara, which began its activities in the 1950s, had part of its factory in Jundiaí/SP modernized with compact controllers Nexto Xpress. At the unit, the conveyors, silos and sieves are controlled by a solution with two Xpress PLCs operating in conjunction with an X2-BASE HMI.
Also in São Paulo, however, in the northwest region of the state, Café Cimo invested in the modernization of its industrial park using Altus technology. The factory, located in the city of São José do Rio Preto, had its scale and roasted coffee mixer control system updated with Xpress PLCs and BluePlant supervisory software. The improvements implemented allowed the customer to mix coffees more accurately and automatically, in addition to the possibility of generating performance reports.
In all these projects, Hauke Automação Ltda, our partner for over 20 years, was responsible for the development and integration of the implemented solutions.
