ORIGINALLY founded as a reload point for milk collected off farms in south central Wisconsin, Hagen Transfer found new growth opportunities as a commercial foodgrade wash rack. A division of Lowell C Hagen Trucking Inc, Hagen Transfer has now Inc has now opened a second location.
The two facilities are dedicated to foods, but can handle a wide range of food products including chocolate and mustard. The wash racks are kosher certified. Fleets should call for limitations and to schedule cleaning appointments.
Opened in 1995 in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, the first location was built as a transfer and storage facility for milk collected off area farms. Milk could be transferred from farm pick-up trucks directly into transport trailers are moved into storage tanks temporarily. The milk was tested and then shipped to processing plants throughout the region.
Initially, the facility had three bays that were dedicated to cleaning milk tankers, but two more bays were added about five years ago to enable the facility to handle a wider range of food products.
The facility became a full-time commercial foodgrade wash rack in 2010 when the milk reload operation was shut down. “The dairy industry has gone to more direct farm-to-processing-plant shipments, which are much more efficient,” says Luke Hagen with Lowell C Hagen Trucking. “We had cleaned foodgrade trailers for other fleets for many years, but we have significantly expanded that part of the business.”
The expanded effort in commercial foodgrade cleaning includes opening a second wash rack in Janesville, Wisconsin. The new wash rack also occupies a former milk transfer and reload facility and is just coming online.
The Elkhorn location has two wash operators and cleans about 15 tank trailers a day. The wash rack is open from 6 am to 5 pm Sunday through Friday. The operating hours and days are the same for the new two-bay facility in Janesville.
The Elkhorn wash rack is somewhat unusual, because it was designed for trailers to be backed in. However, the arrangement makes it easy for a single worker to quickly and easily access trailers in each of the five bays. A mezzanine that runs the width of the wash rack provides access to the tank manholes.
Three wash bays are used to clean the easier food products, and two bays are used for the more difficult products, such as chocolate. Easy products are cleaned with Tri-Clover spray balls, while a Gamajet spinner handles the difficult washes. Two trailers at a time can be cleaned in the wash rack.
One spinner is dedicated to kosher washes, which take about an hour. Non-kosher washes for most food products take about 45 minutes. “Probably 90% of the tanks we clean get a kosher wash,” Hagen says. “Chocolate and mustard trailers probably are the most time consuming because we have to send workers inside the tank to make sure we remove all of the product residue.”
A stainless steel vat-style cleaning system from R&S Stainless Inc supplies hot water and foodgrade cleaning solutions. Tanks are cleaned with 185°F water, and steam is used as needed.
Steam and hot water comes from a 100-horsepower Johnston boiler. Exterior cleaning is handled by Landa pressure washers. Roughly the same wash system is used at the Janesville location.
Heels are collected and stored for disposal. Wastewater from the cleaning process goes through a series of treatment tanks where oils and fats are removed and the pH is adjusted. The treated water is then released into the city sewer. ♦
