Guttridge Ltd, bulk materials handling specialist based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, has recently manufactured and supplied a range of bulk conveying machines to PM Engineering for installation in a new production facility for Kilwaughter Chemical Co Ltd in Northern Ireland.

Guttridge Ltd are a leading UK manufacturer of Bulk Powder Handling Machinery, who design and manufacture a wide range of screw conveyors, chain conveyors, bucket elevators, dischargers, feeders, bulk bag systems, valves and ancillary equipment for efficient bulk solids handling.

PM Engineering Ltd, based in Dungannon, County Tyrone, specialise in the design and manufacture of high performance, custom built equipment individually produced to suit the customer’s specific requirements and have the capacity and experience to supply the quarry, concrete and peat processing industries, with either manual or full automatically controlled plants.

Mr Patsy Mulgrew (Managing Director) - of PM Engineering, commented, “We have worked with Guttridge on previous projects over the years and must say they are a very helpful and professional company, when it comes to customer services and providing a vast range of solid and reliable products. Getting the correct setup for a customer is very important and Guttridge have provided us with many products that have been able to outclass and outlast any of its competitors by a long shot. I hope that our good working relationship with this company will last for many years to come.”

Kilwaughter Chemical Company Ltd has been an established mineral and quarry processor since 1939 with all their quarrying and production facilities based on a 50 acre site at their headquarters in Larne, Northern Ireland. Product lines include limestone, sand, aggregate and calcium carbonate powders.  Kilwaughter quarry produces the much sought after 'Co. Antrim white limestone' used in the construction and agricultural industries throughout Ireland. 
 
New Investment

Research and development at Kilwaughter is a continuous process that provides new answers to the changing needs and expectations of their customers. Driven by market requirements and the emerging opportunities presented through the development of new technology, the company is committed to providing new innovative products.
The project, part of an investment in a new production facility milling limestone, required the design and supply of bespoke bulk conveying equipment to handle limestone in different forms to be installed by PM Engineering at their Larne site.

Highly efficient equipment

The supply of equipment from Guttridge included three bucket elevators and one screw conveyor. Inherently simple, bucket elevators are a popular choice for elevating bulk materials within manufacturing and processing industries and are capable of handling most free flowing materials and many materials with poor flow characteristics. The Guttridge Hiload range has, over many years, seen continuous developments in bucket shape, head and boot profiles and manufacturing and operating specifications. The standard range is easily tailored to suit:

•      Fragile or friable materials
•      Oily materials and their products
•      Materials which fluidise
•      Abrasive materials
•      Hot or wet environments

With many bucket systems available today, there is a plethora of design parameters that need to be varied to produce a cost effective and efficient design of bucket elevator. Guttridge offer an unrivalled approach to design and specification which ensures that tailor-made machines can also be built to specific customer specifications, are competitively priced and are manufactured to the highest standards of build quality and specification.

For the Kilwaughter project, Guttridge supplied PM Engineering with one Hiload 230 belt and bucket elevator with a duty of 20tph of limestone at 1500kg/cu.m. to operate up to a temperature of 50°c and a further two  Hiload 230 elevators with a duty of 30tph of limestone at 1100 and 1500 kg/cu.m respectively, to operate up to a temperature of 100°c.
 
Well proven designs

Completing the supply was a 350mm diameter U-Trough Archimedean screw conveyor to operate with a duty of 30tph at 1500 kg/cu.m.

An essential part of many conveying and storage systems, the Guttridge screw conveyor is  simple and robust in design and easily maintained, providing a low cost, versatile conveying capability with many bulk solids handling applications in manufacturing and processing factories.

Having been continuously developed over many years, Guttridge U-trough screw conveyors and tubular screw conveyors are available with a wide range of options to suit every requirement. The well proven, modular design ensures easy assembly, installation and maintenance and allows any configuration to be easily and quickly built up to suit a customer's exact requirements in both mild and stainless steel.
Guttridge bulk materials handling equipment is in operation all over the world in the Chemicals and Minerals Industry, handling cement, sand, glass cullet, asphalt, limestone, ores, coal, salt, fertilisers and fine powders with ease.