Oct 4 2012
Guttridge Ltd, a leading manufacturer of materials handling solutions, has supplied a suite of conveying equipment to the Lafarge Barnstone Works (Nottinghamshire UK) for feed and product transport through a new aggregate blending unit.
Bucket elevators provide vertical material transport across the plant.
Specified to ensure maximum reliability for highly abrasive process streams, the six Hi-Load bucket elevators and the Kleenbelt belt conveyor incorporate sensors for upset detection as well as a number of features that streamline maintenance. Lafarge is a global leader in the production of building materials and has installed the new plant to make sand/cement/aggregate blends for specific applications within the construction industry.
“We already had Guttridge machines working reliably on site,” explains Adam Elmes, Project Manager for Lafarge, “so we were well aware that the company could provide us with quality systems at an acceptable price. Beyond that, though, we were impressed with the company’s willingness to innovate new solutions that would help us to achieve the very highest levels of reliability – a major goal for our site. The Guttridge engineers are both responsive and knowledgeable and this was an important factor in ensuring the success of the project.”
The six bucket elevators are used to vertically lift different streams – cement, aggregate, sand and associated mixtures - at various points in the process. The belt conveyor is a completely enclosed system that transports a cement and sand mixture some distance, from a vibratory screen to the elevator feeding the mixer. All equipment was supplied with a host of carefully engineered features designed to ensure reliable long-term abrasives handling with minimal manual attention, as well as to ease maintenance.
“All the systems came on stream quickly and easily and are working well,” continues Mr Elmes, “but we’re especially impressed with the Kleenbelt. It’s a really robust design with an excellent sealing system. All of the incoming material is fed cleanly onto the belt without spillage and we have complete product containment even though the stream is very dusty. This is a major improvement compared with our previous experience of a conventional belt conveyor.”