News items January 2021

Gericke becomes a partner in the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre CPI and the founding partners of the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre have announced the signing of an agreement with Gericke, making it a partner in the collaboration. This partnership will draw on Gericke’s extensive experience in powder processing equipment and systems to support the Centre’s flagship Grand Challenges, which are advancing pharmaceutical manufacturing. The Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre is a collaboration between CPI, the University of Strathclyde and founding industry partners, GSK and AstraZeneca with funding provided by Scottish Enterprise and UK Research and Innovation. The Centre aims to address challenges and maximise efficiency within the pharmaceutical supply chain through a series of ‘Grand Challenges’. The first of these, Grand Challenge 1 (GC1), focuses on the development of an innovative continuous direct compression (CDC) platform, which will help enable oral solid dosage medicines to be formulated more

Flowrox, a Finland based company specializing in flow control, process automation, environmental and solid-liquid separation technologies, strengthens its operations in Central Europe by opening a new subsidiary, Flowrox GmbH in Ratingen, Düsseldorf, Germany. Jukka Koskela, President & CEO of Flowrox, explains the strategic importance of the new subsidiary: “For years we have been operating in Central Europe through representatives. Our offering has recently expanded, and we also provide complete industrial solutions. That is why we feel it is crucial to be close to customers in this major market. By setting up a local operation in Central Europe, we can better support our customers and representatives with local projects, sales and services.” Dirk Otto has joined Flowrox as Managing and Sales Director, Central Europe. Mr. Otto has a strong background in process technology and solid-liquid separation. Before joining Flowrox, he has worked with some leading

The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology will be presenting a paper at Powder Flow 2021. And have a `remote` stand to be able to answer your questions The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology is proud to present at Powder Flow 2021, on 9 - 11 March 2021 Register to hear our Vivek Garg present his paper `A novel approach to predict the powder flowability from milligramme samples` Also presenting are: Dr Diego Barletta | University of Salerno Dr Mehrdad Pasha | USB Prof. Christine Hrenya | University of Colorado Boulder Dr Vincenzino Vivacqua | Johnson Matthey Prof. Jerry Heng | Imperial College Dr Enrico Gallino | Ricoh uk products Ltd We will be attending a `remote` stand to be able to answer your questions. We look forward to seeing you there.

Why does the PrimeTracker reacts that fast and works without friction and wear? The PrimeTracker looks the same, but works totally different- Works totally flexible, tilt and swing in all directions, that is the reason that the PrimeTracker react and steers faster, has 100% contact with the belt and works friction and wear free. Fast conveyor belt alignment. More infos, please let us know, or just test the PrimeTracker now.

Engelsmann Product Developer Viktor Quindt addresses common challenges that need to be considered in order to empty a bulk solid efficiently. Mr. Quindt, why does the processing of bulk materials often present difficulties? The various properties of the bulk material often prove to be the greatest challenge. Many bulk materials tend to form dust, while others are high in fat or particularly breakable. And as if different bulk materials presenting peculiarities was not enough, some identical products even tend to react differently in specific environments. A typically unproblematic product can clump when transported over long distances or react differently than in a tempered space when it is exposed to high humidity and temperatures. Naturally this influences the equipment used and must be considered at all times. What does an operator have to watch out for when choosing the right bulk material technology? To ensure that a production process is not pointlessly interrupted and to fully exploit the machine’s production potential, the technology used must be matched perfectly to the task at hand and

REMBE Safety Days Digital Home Edition – Success event continues via video conference In recent years, the ‘REMBE Safety Days’ series of events has repeatedly made Brilon a meeting place for global explosion safety and process safety. The content of the events was to present and discuss current topics in these areas as well as to create a platform for networking. In November 2019, 150 participants from five continents were welcomed to the Sauerland region. Unfortunately, no live events can take place due to the current situation. In order to nevertheless enable such an important exchange of knowledge, REMBE is offering a digital version of the REMBE Safety Days. Safety is essential – especially in difficult times like this. REMBE has launched the ‘REMBE Safety Days - Digital Home Edition’ to enable experts to continue to exchange their experience in the field of safety technology. “We are proud to be able to provide a platform like this,” says Claire Lloyd (Team Leader Process Safety Europe and one of the speakers at the REMBE Safety

Problem with chain conveyors in corrosive application solved through use of the right components. Customer was struggling with their conveyors transporting a corrosive by-product of crude oil processing. The chain was breaking and wearing fast, causing much downtime. 4B heavy duty links with corrosion-resistant pins and circlips improved the conveyor life by at least 50%. Challenge The customer was struggling with the life of the chain inside their chain conveyors. The chain conveyors where transporting a by-product of crude oil processing and wearing extremely fast. The wear was mainly due to the corrosive nature of the product and the strength of the chain installed. The corrosion was wearing the chain links and pins quite rapidly and the low chain strength lead to rapid elongation of the links. These 2 issues combined resulted in many chain breaks and a lot of production time loss to maintenance on the conveyors. SOLUTION Use of 4B142HAD chain links with pins in AISI420 and circlips in AISI304. These pins had a higher resistance to corrosion and the

Gericke introduces a new hygienic outlet valve with inflatable seals. This patented solution is ideal for applications, where frequent cleaning is a must. Gericke batch mixers are now available with an additional type of discharge valve. This innovative and patented valve offers high process reliability, meeting all hygienic requirements, reduces the overall height of the mixing line and even lowers energy consumption. The circular shape avoids any unnecessary corners making it easier to clean. Crucial for high homogeneity Gericke has hereby innovated a mechanical component that is often underestimated in its relevance. Mixer outlet valves not only serve to empty the mixer but are an important interface that is crucial in terms of cross-contamination and mixing quality. In other words, choosing the right outlet valve is crucial if high homogeneity is to be achieved in the mixing process. Recipe trueness A general concern of many mixing processes is the recipe trueness. A leaking or malfunction valve may alter the mixing content to be guaranteed. This leaking can be caused by e.g. product layers which have been

SYMACH palletizers stack ZST 50kg sugar bags in slings, to load a ship. The SYMACH systems offer quick and reliable palletizing flexibility for container/sling. At the end of last year, Zeeland Sugar Terminal in Westdorpe loaded the first breakbulk / general cargo vessel with 50kg bags of sugar in sling bags. The ultramodern sugar terminal, ZST, has two SYMACH palletizing lines and can therefore efficiently load both containers and sling bags. Flexibility to meet customer demand and a high capacity to palletize mainly 50kg bags of sugar quickly and reliably into the right format were necessary for ZST. Loading slings with bags into the hold of a ship quickly and efficiently can only be done with stable straight stacks of bags. The high palletizing quality of SYMACH palletizers provides straight stacks that are sufficiently cohesive with each other for good stability. For the palletizing line SYMACH also designed and built the bag transport to feed the palletizers and the pallet transport system. The use of metal transport pallets contributes considerably to the SYMACH line flexibility. The line design limits the number

Never struggle with non-flowing product from big bags again: the Big-Bag Conditioner from Dinnissen makes things flow. Never struggle with non-flowing product again with our new Big-Bag Conditioner. For many producers, emptying big bags can be a difficult and slow process, when the product has consolidated during transport or storage and therefore won’t flow out properly. High-speed discharge. The Dinnissen Big-Bag Conditioner is the solution to this problem. It is designed to loosen up heavily compacted products, which results in a smooth and rapid product flow. This innovation speeds up your production process by integrating conditioning and high-speed discharge. Dinnissen Big-Bag Conditioner * Designed to loosen up heavily compacted products * Speeds up your production process * Conditioning and discharge in one station * High discharge rates * Validated system * Designed, built, and tested in-house * Tested with the customer’s products

Measurement technology Rotonivo® and NivoBob® combined with data visualisation NivoTec® Modern, high-quality technologies ensure a continuous stress-free manufacturing process in plants. When it comes to detecting fill levels in silos and material processing operations, sensors with a high level of compatibility for different process containers provide the optimum support for a smooth process. Depending on the processing stage, the material to be controlled can be of very different nature and place different demands on the measurement technology to be used. Users from different industries with a number of scattered storage silos consider it increasingly necessary for their plants to be equipped with automated visualisation and monitoring of the data in addition to continuous measurement of the fill levels. Modern solutions for efficient storage processes In order to guarantee a professional solution in terms of precision and process reliability for content measurement during the various stations in the manufacturing process to support a production

Based in North Scarle, Lincolnshire, UK, Grove Pet Foods is a respected manufacturer of high-quality pet foods. Grove Pet Foods has complete control over the manufacturing process from raw materials entering the site to distribution of finished packs, they can provide an unrivaled range of scientifically formulated recipes to satisfy all species and breeds. This client’s manufacturing process includes bulk storage, bulk material discharge and transfer of raw material for pet food production. The client had a need to replace a flap type diverter valve which had been in service for a considerable period of time. The existing diverter valve had reached the end of its service life and was difficult to clean and maintain due to its design. The new diverter design had to cope with a variety of sticky and abrasive feed material, with easy access for cleaning and maintainability, whilst being fast acting to allow reject material from a metal detector to be diverted out

Find 15 lectures, 21 international experts - the Conference will be performed as an online Conference for the first time. Dr. Yun Schüler-Zhou as the key-note speaker from Deutsche Rohstoffagentur, Berlin will give an important review about Chinas influence on the international raw materials market. Interesting expert lectures will be given by Artel.Pro, Bedeschi Group S.P.A., Italien, ESI Engineering System International GmbH, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Will, TU Dresden, ALFA Development GmbH, Lutze Group, Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, USA, Sempertrans OfficeGermany, REMA TIP TOP Australia, Schade Lagertechnik GmbH, MTS Messtechnik Sauerland GmbH, RWE Technology International, Schulte Strathaus GmbH & Co KG, Martin Engineering about Sibirian belt conveyor operation challenges, basics of efficient belt conveyor design and erection in inaccessable areas, development and use of digital twins and a current overview about VDI-Guidelines on conveyor-technology. Belt loading and integrated waging technology are topics as well as What does glass have in common with rubber? and wear protection

Product Quality from Lab to Line: Save time and money by instant on-line, off-line and laboratory moisture measurement with Near-infrared (NIR) technology Moisture measurement and control analyzers can be found in thousands of applications all over the world as they save manufacturers a large amount of time and money by quickly detecting variables in the manufacturing process and allowing corrections to be made in real time. Near-infrared (NIR) technology for instant on-line, off-line and laboratory moisture instrumentation is unsurpassed in performance and accuracy over competing technologies. Fast and nondestructive analysis NIR spectroscopy and imaging are fast and nondestructive analytical techniques that provide chemical and physical information of virtually any matrix. Near-infrared can tell us things about a product in a similar way to visible light. When light hits a product, it will interact in various ways; transmitted light will pass through the product while backscattered light will reflect from the product and light will also be absorbed by the product, which is key in NIR analysis. Widely applicable MoistTech

In mechanical conveyors high speeds are unwanted because of explosion risk. Poeth’s Z- en C-conveyors are ATEX safe because of reduced speeds. Many powder conveying systems are based on speeds higher than 1 m/s. In many cases, this means that additional Atex provisions must be made. This is not necessary with the Z and C-Conveyor. The conveyor runs at a speed smaller than 0.5 m/s and is certified for internal ATEX application. Explosion safety assessed with scorecard “very good” Poeth Solids Processing supplied the Z-Conveyor to Algiers as part of its complete turn-key project. In addition to the transport system, Poeth also supplied the silo building with a storage capacity of 5700 m³, the Sea Container Tilting Unit, inline weighers, cleaning systems, spark detection and the electronic control and cabling. The externally designated ATEX certification body assessed the explosion safety in Algiers with a “scorecard 4 - very good”. Poeth will soon be building similar installations for the same brewer in Nigeria and Cambodia.

At the ACHEMA Innovation Challenge young researchers and developers have the chance to convince industry experts with their answers to i Digital methods are finding their way everywhere in industry - but "digitalization" still often stands for a buzzword rather than a concrete solution. The ACHEMA Innovation Challenge is different: Here, the aim is to use digital approaches to solve very specific challenges from the real world. Together with the partners KEEN, HTAI and the members of the ProcessNet specialist group "Industrial Water", two topical areas that are of great relevance to the process industry have been defined for this purpose. Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for the process industry: industry-oriented challenges from the KEEN platform MAIN-Hack: Concepts for Predictive Maintenance in Water Management A third strand of topics is currently being developed. Students, young professionals and start-ups as well as university working groups have the opportunity to test their ideas and skills on industrial issues. With the help of expert feedback and in workshops, they work on their

Scalable and adaptable Lockout/Tagout implementation Ontex implemented efficient Lockout/Tagout-procedures that deliver optimal maintenance safety and speed for a wide range of machinery in Buggenhout, Belgium. Ontex wanted to achieve a high level of safety and efficiency for machine maintenance interventions. Ontex is a leading international personal hygiene group who engineers and makes high quality products for Baby Care, Feminine Care and Adult Care. They are the partner of choice for consumers, retailers, and institutional and private healthcare providers around the world. Scalable and adaptable Lockout/Tagout implementation Together with a specialised distributor, Brady offered its expert safety procedure writing service, LINK360 safety procedure software and the devices and padlocks to implement Lockout/Tagout in the workplace. First, experts from the specialised distributor partner and Brady Corporation visited the Ontex site in Buggenhout, Belgium to write efficient, best practice and machine specific

Reduced operating costs Application Waste to Energy Plants operate under strict particulate emission control limits, which typically requires the installation of multi-compartment baghouses. Providing a high degree of filtration efficiency, these filters require regular maintenance for optimum performance. Due to complexities of large multi-compartment filters, finding potential leaks can be a complicated and time-consuming task. The current (European) Emission Limit Value (ELV) is relatively low (10 mg/m3), therefore, the consequences of filter leaks can rapidly result in breaches of the emission limit. If solely reliant on the main stack emission monitor for indication of emission limit excursions, the filter failure event will already be underway. To ensure compliance is retained, the ability to locate which compartment contains the leak is a highly valuable process operation tool. Process data Industry Sector: Waste to Energy Material: Animal Waste (Combustion by product) Dust Loadings:

Reliable level control with inspection window MOLOSvisu W070 from MOLLET Füllstandtechnik The simplest instruments provide often the most appropriate solutions. This wisdom is also true when it is concerned with applications for the level control of bulk solids for example in dosing hoppers, funnels, containers or pipes. Is there a possibility to control the filling level with an absolutely maintenance-free device even in difficult circumstances, with highest reliability and a long lifetime? Yes, the MOLOSvisu W070 from MOLLET Füllstandtechnik GmbH is suitable for full, demand or empty detection in dusty, powdery, granulated or grained bulk goods with any kind of density. The compact inspection window made of crystal clear Makrolon enables a reliable level indication even with rather limited mounting space and can be installed directly into the storage container or with an appropriate flange. With the robust MOLOSvisu inspection windows the actual filling level can be made visible from the outside. In this way you can to keep an eye on it at all times.

Dorner Celebrates its 55th Anniversary as an Industry Leader of Conveyor Systems Dorner this month is celebrating its 55th anniversary in business. From its humble beginnings as a little tool and die shop, Dorner has evolved through the years to become one of the most recognized global brands in low profile conveyor systems for industries including automation, food, manufacturing, packaging and many others. In 2016, Dorner reached its golden anniversary and celebrated the milestone with events at its Hartland, Wisconsin, headquarters. Five years later, the company continues making history with achievements in product development and global expansion. Here are some notable highlights: 2016 Dorner introduces the Next Generation 2200 Series low profile belt conveyor, a platform that’s stronger, faster and more flexible for handling small to medium size part applications. 2017 Dorner Holding Company, the parent company of Dorner, FlexMove, and Geppert-Band, announces a new partnership with the EQT Mid Market US fund, a leading investment

Point level dtection with RFnivo® coated with Protection Plus with innovative corrosion In power plants, the demands made on the fill level sensors can be very high due to the fact that the sensors come into contact with aggressive media such as sulphur oxides, heavy metals or even acids. Where limit switches are used for dust detection in flue gas cleaning, they need to be robust enough in order to deliver reliable and consistent performance. Often maintenance costs or replacement of these sensors can be very high due to their quality not being adequate to meet the demands and so they achieve only a short operating life. This is particularly evident in measurement tasks in flue gas cleaning within waste incineration plants. Longer service life due to increased corrosion resistance UWT has further developed the RFnivo® 3100 capacitive level limit switch for this type of measurement task in the dust extraction of flue gases so that it meets and withstands the demanding conditions. All process-contacting parts of the sensor have been designed to be completely

The Multisize Sample Carousel by Dinnissen makes it possible to collect samples in different sizes or frequencies in one automated sampling process. More output per hour and fewer operators needed. The Multisize Sample Carousel makes it possible to collect different sample sizes in one automated sampling process. Producers can now determine the order and frequency per sample size. Samples for various purposes (start sample, chemical sample, bacteriological sample, hour sample, batch sample) can now be collected in series fully automated. With exactly the right amount of product per sample. Advantages * More output per hour and fewer operators needed. * Less error-prone and less product waste * Automatic sampling of different sample sizes * Possible to determine your own frequency, order, and sample size Downtime reduced with the Multisize Sample Carousel Every second that our customers’ production lines standstill is one too many. Together with our customers, we innovate production processes to maximize output and minimize downtime. Recently, a valued customer challenged us to reduce downtime per hour to a maximum of five minutes. In the sampling

Compact laser particle size analyser with extra wide measuring range saves money and avoids trouble with practically maintenance-free dispersion unit without soiling, without wear Select the Laser Particle Sizer according to your needs: either the Analysette 22 NeXT Micro for all typical measurement tasks from 0.5 - 1500 μm or the high-end instrument Analysette 22 NeXT Nano with an extra wide measuring range from 0.01 - 3800 μm for maximum precision and sensitivity even for smallest particles. The advantages of the NeXT Generation in overview: - Unbeatably priced particle size analyser with a unique measuring range from 0.01 – 3800 µm - Powerful, practically wear-free and maintenance-free dispersion unit, residue-free rinsing - Whole measuring process extremely flexible to program via SOPs and a measuring time typically < 1 minute - Reproducible results and the possibility to record additional parameters such as temperature and ph value during wet dispersion - Extremely simple to operate and clean A particle size analyser can only be as good as its dispersion capabilities. Due to the Analysette 22 NeXT‘s cleverly reduced

For 50 years VELCO GmbH/Germany has been building a solid reputation as a reliable partner of the foundry, steel and refractory industries. It started in 1971, when VELCO was established by Kurt Wolf, father of the today’s owner Christian Wolf, in the city of Velbert located at the border of the Ruhr industrial area. This town formerly was an important center of the foundry industry. And so the first rotor gunning machine of type Rotamat was launched in 1971 for this branch of industry. Still today this machine type is built and nearly 1300 Rotamat machines are in use all over the world. During the decades VELCO improved and broadened its machine technique, respecting industry’s demand for cost savings, improved efficiency and rising safety importance. Besides the rotor gunning machine VELCO’s delivery program now comprises also pressure vessel gunning machines and gunning robots for the refractory repair of the different aggregates. Based on the know-how

Video of live demo: In this video our product managers will show you the functionality and advantages of the new instruments. With radar technology that is robust, flexible and economical all at the same time, VEGA is setting the course for more efficient production processes involving bulk solids. The deployment spectrum of the new VEGAPULS C series now includes simple, basic applications. Experience in our live demo how "radar for any situation" works. From standard applications to unconventional and complex ones: how the technology measures reliably, regardless of dust, noise or temperature fluctuations. And above all, how it performs in direct comparison with ultrasonics.

In the production of sodium carbonate with fluctuating feed rates and finest separations in the range of 200 µm, many manufacturers rely on the proven screening quality of the RHEWUM WA vibration screening machine to achieve optimum quality of their produ Sodium carbonate has been used by humans for a long time and is considered one of the most versatile chemical products. Its applications include the glass industry, the chemical industry, the pulp and paper industry as well as the detergent and soap industry. The screening task usually consists of screening out the existing dust content from the actual soda product. Recent screening tests with sodium carbonate at the RHEWUM technical center confirm that the type WA screening machine is perfectly suited for finest separations at high capacities. The screen cloth is excited to high-frequency vibrations by means of beater bars directly applied to the screen cloth. Outside of the screen housing rugged electromagnetic drives rock the knocker shafts, conveying the high frequency oscillation directly into the screen mesh. Accelerations of up to 15 g and more are thus achieved on the screen cloth. The power of the electromagnets can be adjusted during operation via an electronic

LUM digitally trains the global sales force for the future in 2021 From January 21st to 22nd, the LUM GmbH International Sales Meeting will take place for the 22nd time in a row. In times of pandemics, as a virtual event for the first time. The sales experts at LUM GmbH and the LUM branches in China, France, Japan and the USA exchange information with external sales partners from all over the world. Once again, the foundations for the successful business of LUM GmbH in the next few years will be laid here. As every year, the best external distributor will be honoured for their successes in the past year. In 2020, Brazilian partner Carlos Filho from Autec Comercio, Servicos, Representacao e Importacao de Equipamentos de Laboratorio Ltda. received the award for his services in 2019. The success of the sales meetings in recent years can be seen in the fact that in 2020, despite drastic pandemic-related restrictions in some countries, several LUM sales partners achieved their high targets set before COVID-19. Carlos Filho from Brazil

With the new company in the UK, NetterVibration are intensifying their customer focus on site, and are able to react even faster and more specifically to local needs. With the beginning of the new year, NetterVibration, a German-based and internationally leading manufacturer and supplier in the field of vibration technology, has opened a subsidiary in the United Kingdom. NetterVibration UK Ltd. is located in Burntwood/Staffordshire, England. Together with his team, Managing Director Michael Hamill will focus on offering their clients the support and advisory in vibration technology throughout the region of the United Kingdom. Michael Hamill was previously a Sales Representative at NetterVibration responsible for the British Isles. Achim Werkmann, CEO at NetterVibration commented: "Great Britain and Ireland are relevant target countries with growth potential for us. With our own company in the UK, we are intensifying our customer focus on site, which is so important, and are therefore in a position to react even faster and more specifically to local needs". Thomas Reis, CEO at NetterVibration added: "Our vibration solutions

Business essentials After a few years of significant growth, 2020 has been a year of challenges, like it was for many businesses. Mostly the absence of physical client meetings has had some impact on the business. Being on site and discussing the situation with the client, is crucial for a good assessment and implementation of the systems within the specific supply chain or warehouse. Connecting to the – online – customer The new world demands high flexibility and new (online) ways of working. Hiring a new Business Development Manager in November 2020 was the first step in this process. Also, Indus Bulk Logistics works on adjusting the online visibility to fulfill the moving customer needs. When looking at customer preferences, Indus Bulk Logistics recognizes the renewed internal focus of companies. Especially in these times, business are optimizing logistics and innovating internal operations. The tailored NEVA system, produced by Indus Bulk Logistics, is offering

Hydronix sensors successfully measure moisture in all types of grain, whole kernel corn, wheat or maize as well as cut maize and flaked oats. Moisture Control in grain Controlling moisture in grain, nuts and pulses throughout different stages of processing can be one of the biggest problems for manufacturers. All sorts of factors will affect the moisture level in the raw product; how it is stored, humidity in the atmosphere, the variety of the grain and also its particle size. All of these will have a contributing factor in the amount of moisture that either needs to be added or evaporated during processing. Hydronix sensors successfully measure moisture in all types of grain, whole kernel corn, wheat or maize as well as cut maize and flaked oats. Benefits * Reduction in energy costs as the correct amount of energy required for drying can be accurately calculated * Reduction in amount of wasted materials * Consistent, repeatable quality end product Correct drying Correct moisture control during the drying or conditioning of the grain or other similar materials enables a direct cost reduction in

Rupture discs, stainless steel strips, overpressure valve Another beautiful project, realised by M.I.P. This composite silo has a diameter of Ø 3.000 mm and a capacity of 45 m³. As this silo is intended for the storage of starch, it is equipped with rupture discs and stainless steel strips. In addition, an overpressure valve is mounted on the roof. Roof railing For maintenance and inspection work, the silo is equipped with a ladder leading to the roof, which is accessible and equipped with a roof railing. If you would like information about your own solutions, we are at your disposal.