Across the food and beverage industry, pump selection plays a critical role in ensuring reliability, productivity, and compliance. While hygienic pumps receive the most attention, a large portion of plant performance depends on the reliability of support pumps — the equipment handling bulk ingredients, utilities, chemicals, wastewater, and byproduct streams that keep the sanitary process running smoothly.
These pumps are the unsung heroes of production. A failure in a support application can stop a line, spoil a batch, or create downtime that impacts quality and yield. At Hayes Group, we help facilities focus on the entire pumping ecosystem, not just the sanitary portion of the line.
Support pumps are responsible for three major operational categories:
1. Tough Ingredient Transfer
Bulk raw ingredients such as corn syrup, molasses, peanut butter, oils, fats, and chocolate require robust equipment capable of handling extreme viscosity, variable temperatures, and abrasive solids.
Viking Pump’s chocolate and sweetener pumps are engineered specifically for these challenges. The internal gear design provides consistent flow, gentle handling, and jacketed temperature control. Viking chocolate pumps with double O‑ring seals and jacketed construction support high‑viscosity, temperature-sensitive ingredients.
The Viking 1224C Series™ with O‑Pro® Seal handles molasses, corn syrup, and sugar slurries.
The 1224A‑CHC Series™ provides leak-free chocolate transfer in demanding applications.
Stainless steel models such as the 1227C® Series support chocolate, cocoa liquor, and related products.
Additional tough‑duty ingredient solutions include:
Moyno progressive cavity pumps for pulps, slurries, mashes, and byproducts.
Liquiflo gear pumps for chemicals, flavorings, and corrosive CIP additives.
Viking Hygienic gear pumps designed for sanitary, viscous ingredients and demanding applications requiring gentle product handling and reliable performance.
2. Plant Utilities
Essential utilities such as hot water, glycol, thermal oil, boiler feed, and chilled water support critical steps across the plant. Support pump reliability in these systems helps protect batch quality and process uptime.
Utility applications commonly use:
ITT Goulds for hot and cold water circulation.
Grundfos for boiler feed and heat transfer loops.
Jesco for water treatment.
A failure in these systems can halt production, and proper pump selection supports stable operation.
3. Waste & Byproduct Streams
Managing CIP returns, wastewater, plant effluent, pulp, slurries, and rendering materials requires pumps built to withstand solids, abrasives, and variable flow.
Moyno (NOV) progressive cavity pumps provide smooth, stable flow in high‑solids waste applications.
Gorman‑Rupp packaged wastewater systems offer lift station and transfer solutions for high‑solids effluent in industrial environments.
Many food and beverage support fluids are too thick or sensitive for centrifugal pumps. Positive displacement pumps — internal gear, progressive cavity, and gear‑with‑mag‑drive variations — move materials by trapping and pushing fixed volumes of fluid.
Viking internal gear pumps solve issues related to viscosity, temperature, abrasion, and shear. Their simple construction reduces downtime and maintenance.
Moyno progressive cavity pumps move semi‑solids and fibrous products without damaging the material.
Jesco metering and peristaltic pumps deliver precise, leak-resistant dosing of corrosive and chemically aggressive fluids.
Chocolate requires:
Controlled temperature
Low shear
Abrasion‑resistant materials
A pump that handles extreme viscosity
Viking’s jacketed internal gear pump design meets all of these requirements simultaneously, providing smooth flow, thermal control, abrasive tolerance, and protection of product texture. The same is true for corn syrup and other viscous sweeteners.
Heavy‑duty support pump technologies should be considered when applications involve:
High viscosity
Elevated or variable temperatures
Abrasive solids
Shear‑sensitive materials
Critical uptime concerns
Viking, Moyno, and Liquiflo technologies each address different operational challenges while supporting the productivity of food and beverage facilities.
Hayes supplies a comprehensive range of food and beverage support equipment:
Ingredient transfer: Viking
Slurries & pulp: Moyno
Chemical handling: Liquiflo
Utilities: ITT Goulds and Grundfos
Wastewater: Gorman‑Rupp packaged stations
Temperature control: Omega Thermo Products
Mechanical seals: John Crane
This equipment can be combined with packaged systems from Grundfos, Jesco, and Xylem where complete skid solutions or integrated controls are required.
For thick fluids, high‑temperature utilities, CIP chemical returns, or waste streams, the team at Hayes Group can help you select the right pump technology for long‑term reliability. Contact us at today.