Welcome to Express Contract Drying
As the UK’s largest independent toll spray dryer, Express Contract Drying Ltd is the trusted manufacturing partner for food and food supplement brands seeking quality, scale, and discretion. From laboratory development through to full commercial production, we provide bespoke spray drying solutions designed to support both emerging and established manufacturers, whether supplementing existing capacity or fully outsourcing production.
With more than 40 years of specialist experience, our extensive capabilities include six commercial tall-form spray dryers, large scale ribbon blending, homogenisation, encapsulation, pilot-scale development, and comprehensive on-site storage, enabling us to deliver a seamless and highly responsive service ranging from 50 grams to 50 metric tonnes. Together with our sister company, ECD Ingredients, which is a leading manufacturer and supplier of premium spray-dried ingredients including vinegar powders, juice powders, microencapsulated powders and powders of named provenance, we offer customers a level of technical expertise, production flexibility, and confidentiality that has made us a preferred partner across the food and nutrition industries.
Learn more about the services we offer, then call us to discuss your specific requirements or email commercial@ecdingredients.com
Office Ebbw Vale: +44 (0)1495 303363
Commercial enquiries: +44 (0)7584 088463
Sales quotes and order placement: sales@ecdingredients.com
about us
Established in 1991, Express Contract Drying Ltd is a recognised leader in spray drying and blending technologies, delivering exceptional technical expertise across products including:
- Micro encapsulated flavours
- Micro encapsulated colours
- Plated flavours
- Vinegar powders
- Fruit Juice Powders
- Micro Encapsulated Vitamins, Minerals
- Active Ingredients and Speciality Powders
We serve Domestic and International:
- Flavour houses
- Colour manufacturers
- Snack seasoning
- Active and Sports Nutrition manufacturers
- Nutrition Brands
Our technical experts work closely with our customers to choose the correct mix of equipment, staff and encapsulating ingredients to ensure best possibly of transforming our customer liquid ingredients into free-flowing powders. ECD offers support from ideation to commercialisation, starting with our laboratory spray dryer through to commercialisation on a production scale spray dryer.
- 6 commercial tall form spray dryers: Capacities from 50 to 400 litres per hour
- 3 commercial ribbon powder blenders
- Pilot dryer: Capacity from 500 to 1kg per hour
- NPD lab dryer: Capacity from 50 to 100grams per hour
- Micro Encapsulation and homogenisation
- Dedicated Halal, Kosher, allergen free site s
- Custom packing
- BRCGS – AA Rated
Our extensive range of evaporation capacities and commercial spray dryers enables Express Contract Drying Ltd to deliver flexible, scalable solutions tailored to the varied requirements of our customers.
Express Contract Drying Ltd has invested significantly in its plant and facilities, incorporating the latest spray drying technology across its operations. This continued investment ensures the company remains at the forefront of the industry, operating what we believe to be one of the most advanced and modern spray drying facilities of its kind in the UK.
This ensures that Express Contract Drying remains at the forefront of the industry, with what we believe is the most modern facility of its type
Spray Drying
How do you get a lump of cheese onto a crisp? Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped sees how Express Contract Drying help their customers produce natural flavours.
Our Services
Spray Drying
As the largest toll spray dryer in the UK, we’re the first choice for food companies looking for a fast, quality certified independent service
Toll Blending
We have a range of blenders capable of dry blends for the food flavours and colours industries
Toll Mixing
With high capacity jacketed heated tanks dedicated to food grade materials, we’re available for all your mixing needs
Research & Development
Whether you’re a start-up or an international company, we can help you develop your flavour and colour products to meet the requirements of the food industry with small batch production capability
Services
ECD provides tailor-made spray drying solutions for its customers including:
New Product Development:
- Recipe development assistance
- Pilot testing and commercialisation through our NPD Team Scott@ecdingredients.com
- Validation of customer formulations, processing, and sampling
Industrial Production:
- Liquid slurry preparation before spray drying which involves:
Mixing, hydrolysing, shearing, reacting, homogenisation, emulsion preparation, filtration, pasteurisation - Custom spray drying
- Custom packing to suit customer needs from 10kg to 1,000 Kg into bags, boxes or bulk sacks
- Post spray drying powder blending
- Large scale powder blending
- Quality control
Equipment
ECD has a wide range of equipment to support customer needs, from pilot to industrial scale:
- 6 Commercial tall form spray dryers
- 2 Large scale ribbon powder blenders
- 1 Small scale ribbon powder blender
- Homogenisation, micro encapsulation & liquid emulsion preparation facility
Products
We service the demands of our customers within the following markets:
- Spray dried food flavours
- Spray dried food colours
- Spray dried vinegars powders
- Spray dried juice powders
- Spray dried nutraceuticals
- Microencapsulated vitamin and mineral powder
- Microencapsulated oil powders
- Micronized plant proteins
- Multiple dried ingredients:
Flavourings
Natural colours
Fruit and vegetable powders
Vegetable proteins
Vitamins and minerals
Adaptogens
Plant extracts
Mission
ECD are BRCGS Accredited which guarantees to customers that ECD operate the standard of quality, safety and operational criteria which ensures we fulfil our legal obligations and provide protection for the end consumer
ECD is a member of SEDEX which is one of the world’s leading ethical trade service providers, working to improve working conditions in global supply chains
ECD is Ecovardis Rated
ECD is FDA Registered
ECD is Kosher an Halal Registered