Canadian Acquistion strenghtens Spiroflow's global position

Spiroflow Ltd, world-leading manufacturer of conveying and weighing systems, has strengthened its global offering with the acquisition of Canadian bulk materials handling specialist Control & Metering, based in Mississauga, Ontario.

The assets of Control & Metering were acquired through Spiroflow Systems, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based Spiroflow Ltd. The deal has not only facilitated the retention of many highly-experienced personnel, but has also enhanced Spiroflow’s global position through ownership of Control & Metering’s patented Bulk Bag Filling and Discharging technology.

Control & Metering was established in 1937, specialising in dry bulk solids handling equipment and systems. In the 1980s the company was one of the first in North America to manufacture bulk bag fillers and unloaders, pioneering technology taken for granted today. This acquisition will enable Spiroflow to consolidate its presence in Canada and North America, and offer enhanced technology and services to customers in North, South and Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and Japan, as well as Europe.

Spiroflow Ltd is a manufacturer of Flexible Screw Conveyors, Aero Mechanical Conveyors, Tubular Cable and Chain Drag Conveyors, Vacuum Conveyors, Bulk Bag Dischargers, Bulk Bag Fillers, Ingredients Handling and Weighing Systems. The company’s technical and engineering expertise has led to it developing an international reputation for an unrivaled range of products with state-of-the-art control systems.

“This latest acquisition brings significant benefits to Spiroflow and our customers. First of all we gained a full order book which we immediately began to fulfill so that customers experienced minimal disruption. We will also enjoy an expanded presence in Canada which will enable us to broaden our sales, engineering, manufacturing and services capabilities for our continually growing global customer base,” said Rob Hudson, managing director at Spiroflow.

“The ethos of Control & Metering – innovation underpinned by outstanding customer service - was very much reflected in Spiroflow’s own vision. Our technical team is constantly innovating, developing new solutions and adaptations in our test centre to meet customer demand for the next improvement or upgrade. There’s no doubt that the expertise and technical excellence of Control & Metering will influence Spiroflow’s development and help us to maximise our future achievements, particularly in forthcoming new products and applications.”

English: Map of Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Spiroflow launches enhanced C1 bulk bag filler

Spiroflow Ltd, world-leading manufacturer of conveying and weighing systems, has announced an upgrade to one of its most popular weigh fillers for pallet handled bags – the C1.

Ideal for low to medium volume use where bulk bags filled on pallets are moved by forklift truck, the new C1 facilitates dust-free, accurate filling of up to 20 bulk bags per hour. Its base is directly mounted on an approved load cell weigh platform and the required weight can be pre-set for automatic cut-off. The platform includes a vibration facility for an even, accurate fill and effective compaction – perfect for handling products that aerate and resulting in a stable load for both storage and transportation.

Boasting modular construction for ease of modification, the new C1 now features automatic height adjustment for different sized bags. Its inflatable neck seal ensures a dust-free environment and minimises product waste, and removing the filled bags has been made even speedier with the addition of a roller conveyor to complement the automatic bag loop release facility.

The new C1 has also retained many of the features which have helped to make it one of Spiroflow’s most popular products across multiple industry sectors, including a carbon/stainless steel filling nozzle and a dual concentric filling spout incorporating a venting system.

Rob Hudson, managing director at Spiroflow, explained, “many millions of bulk bags, with a capacity from 500kg to 1500kg, are sold worldwide every year, making them one of the most convenient, cost-effective methods of packaging, storage and transport. Customers in industries ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to plastics and building products use bulk bags, and hence require the best equipment to fill and discharge their often fragile or fine-particle products quickly and with the minimum of fuss.

“At Spiroflow our technical team is constantly innovating, developing new solutions and adaptations in our test centre to meet customer demand for the next improvement or upgrade. Our C Series of weigh fillers remain extremely popular as they’re both efficient and versatile, and we’re confident that the new C1 will prove an equally successful addition to our range.”

Spiroflow Ltd's technical and engineering expertise has led to it developing an international reputation for an unrivalled range of products with state-of-the-art control systems.

Grain (Photo credit: peter pearson)

New! GFMT article: The missing link: the importance of conveyor design

In this GFMT article, John Eiting, sales engineer, Modern Process Equipment Corporation, USA, today looks at the importance of transportation in the mill.

In many processing facilities, the grinding or milling of products is a key element in the process. However, transportation and conveying are often an afterthought to the design and implementation of the production process. Many times, conveying is added or altered due to increased production capacity, or changes in the production process. Whatever the reason, often the planning of conveyor selection and design doesn’t receive the consideration it deserves, thereby making it a ripe target for many of the problems that a processing facility with a focus on milling can face.

Read the full article here.

The missing link: the importance of conveyor design

Schenck Process: Pneumatic conveying systems

Pneumatic and Vacuum Conveying expertise in the Food Industry

Schenck Process has extensive experience in the design of specialist pneumatic conveying systems using positive and negative air pressures for the food industry to transport a wide range of powders, granulates and extruded shapes.

Food quality systems range from simple, lean phase, product transfer applications to fully automatic factory wide multi-reception point installations for storage and distribution and for the mixing and dosing of ingredients.

For vacuum conveying systems Schenck Process have particular expertise in the design of products with quick release clamps, easy to clean and fully polished stainless steel components to ensure that the highest standards of hygiene are maintained. The Schenck Process vacuum systems include the standard modular products of Moduload and Modufeed which are tried and tested designs for conveying and feeding materials in lean phase mode.

The modular system offers flexibility not just in terms of the vacuum source, but in the material selection and filtration too. The vacuum system feature precipitous tanks as standard, which ensure smooth material withdrawal, without the need for additional withdrawal machines. The full bore discharge flap valves and butterfly discharge valves that enable refilling of loss-in-weight feeders are standard features too. Control and sequencing of the conveying system can be by either solid state microprocessor controller or a programmable logic controller.

Recent installations by Schenck Process include the conveying of granulated sugar, flour, green coffee beans, barley malt, popcorn, bulk ingredients and whole corns.  Utilising a mixture of lean phase positive pressure, lean phase vacuum (negative pressure) and dense phase systems, giving flow rates of up to 55kg/hr over distances of 100m.

Schenck Process's pneumatic conveying technologies provide to clients system solutions that have low energy consumption, lower operational costs, increased reliability and lower maintenance costs with increased productivity and reduced risk of material spillage.