When a Gauteng-based beverage manufacturer encountered a sticky materials handling challenge, Weba Chute Systems and Brelko Conveyor Products joined forces to deliver a customised solution.
“Challenges at certain transfer points in the beverage manufacturing plant meant the customer was not able to operate at optimal levels, says Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems. The customer had been
experiencing high spillage volumes as well as ongoing blockages in chutes. This, in turn, caused numerous plant stoppages that prevented it from achieving production targets. The challenges caused costly downtime, and many issues could only be appropriately addressed during the bi-annual maintenance shutdowns.
Following an on-site assessment, it was confirmed that the proposed Brelko equipment would control the spillage, however Weba Chute Systems’ transfer point expertise was needed to address the material flow issues in the plant.
Bigger and more robust
With Weba Chute Systems’ traditional focus on the mining and bulk materials handling sector, its chutes are usually much larger and more robust than those required in food and beverage industry applications. While chutes on mines can weigh up to 50 tons, the custom-designed transfer systems for this beverage manufacturing plant weighed in at around 300kg.
“The design principles remain the same,” Mark says. “With our understanding of material flow and our in-house design capability, we could develop the most appropriate chute design for this plant.” Providing a solution for a beverage manufacturing plant meant attention was given to materials of construction. These included the use of stainless steel and foodgrade polyurethane components.
Another area which received careful consideration was that the new transfer points would be installed in an existing plant. This meant engineering for an existing footprint, accommodating existing walls and walkways, and catering for space constraints.
A boost in production Mark says that the collaborative approach between Weba Chute Systems and Brelko Conveyor Products delivered a number of benefits on the project. “Our working knowledge of Brelko products allowed us to engineer our chute solution to achieve a fit-for-purpose solution for the customer,” Mark concludes.
Weba Chute Systems & Solutions
Mark Baller
Tel: (011) 827-9372/3/4
Email: weba@webachutes.com
www.webachutes.com
