Three Vessel Design Enhancements to Improve Your Throughput

Summary:

Looking to boost batch speeds and overall line efficiency? Instead of just adding more equipment, you can optimize throughput by refining your vessel design. This article highlights three proven enhancements that improve processing time, product quality, and food safety:

• Add or upgrade agitation to improve mixing and capacity
• Increase jacketing surface area for faster heat/cool cycles
• Include safety features to improve uptime and regulatory compliance

1. How Can Agitation Improve Processing Capacity?

Many food processors begin with standard jacketed vessels without built-in agitation, or they rely on manual mixing. However, adding the proper agitation style can drastically improve batch performance and versatility across product lines.

• Single-motion agitation is ideal for simple stirring and reduces product scorching.
• Inclined single-motion agitation (at 45 degrees) lifts and folds gently , perfect for soups, salsas, and pie fillings , and provides scraped-surface benefits.
• Double-motion agitation uses counter-rotating blades for faster, more even mixing, helping to move ingredients more efficiently from the outer surface to the center and from the bottom to the top of the kettles. This agitation style is effective for both gentle folding and aggressive mixing of viscous products.

Choosing the right agitation design can dramatically enhance heating/cooking efficiency and product consistency.

2. How Does the Jacketed Surface Area Impact Batch Cycle Time?

Increasing the jacketed area of a vessel increases the surface available for heat transfer. This leads to significantly faster heat-up and cool-down cycles, which directly shortens batch processing time.

Benefits of expanding jacketing area:

• Faster thermal exchange reduces overall batch time.
• Allows zoned heating, so smaller or larger batches can be processed more flexibly.
• Improves energy efficiency by targeting heating zones precisely.

Important Note: These changes must be carefully calculated to avoid negatively impacting the product ,  such as altering color, texture, or ingredient properties. Consider carefully how expanding the jacketed area and increasing the heating surface will affect your product and how your steam and hot water needs may change.

3. What Vessel Safety Features Can Improve Food & Operator Safety?

Adding modern safety enhancements reduces contamination risk and protects workers, both of which contribute to improved uptime and compliance.

Food safety features:

• Highly polished interior finishes
• Specialized scraper blades
• Pipeline metal detection systems
  

Operator safety upgrades:

• Jacket insulation
• Cover lift assists
• Limit/grate cutoff switches
• Variable-frequency drive controllers

Together, these measures reduce the chance of injury or contamination while supporting FSMA compliance ,  which older equipment may lack.

Why Should You Plan for Future Expansion Now?

Even if you're not ready to expand today, planning for future needs during vessel upgrades is a smart strategy, especially for contract manufacturers or fast-growing brands.

Future-ready upgrades include:

• Larger horsepower motors
• Higher viscosity agitator ratings
• Versatile design for a wider range of products
  

These features allow manufacturers to scale quickly, reduce capital spend later, and maintain production flexibility.

Key Takeaways

• Optimize vessel design instead of just adding equipment, smarter upgrades can outperform basic expansion.
• Agitation, jacketing, and safety features are the top three levers to improve throughput, consistency, and efficiency.
• Future-proofing vessel specs ensures you're ready for new products, higher volume, or changing compliance demands.

Consult with the Lee Industries design team to learn what present-day strategies could be the best for future optimization.

Last Updated: 10/17/2025