With over 50 years in the bulk materials handling industry, Guttridge has been experiencing an ever-increasing demand for our equipment and services in overseas markets and a recent delivery to a cement factory in Albania is an interesting example of this.
Heavy Duty Chain Conveyor
The requirement was for a heavy duty chain conveyor capable of working with very abrasive material for one of the largest cement producers in Albania. Cement is produced when mixtures of limestone, minerals and other additives are burned at high temperatures in a specialised rotary kiln. The raw material mixing with hot air creates a chemical reaction, producing clinker, a material consisting of marble-sized pellets and small particles of a similar size to sand. The clinker is then transported from the kiln, cooled, finished and then finally ground into fine particles for bagging. The chain conveyor specified and manufactured by Guttridge will convey this highly abrasive and dusty clinker dust as part of the cement processing facility. To ensure that the product could be transported effectively without excessively reducing the life of the conveyor, the conveyor was built with a thick, heavy duty casing, heavy drop forged chain and hardox wear plates. In addition, the conveyor, with a throughput of 80tph of clinker dust, is fully enclosed to minimise the health and safety and product loss issues surrounding the problem of dust control.
Custom-built machinery for cement handling
Guttridge now routinely design and manufacture conveying machinery for cement handling and have extensive knowledge of the conveying requirements at each of the various stages of the cement production process. Although we manufacture a standard range of screw, chain and belt conveyors, bucket elevators and other ancillary conveying equipment, the majority of machines we design and build are non-standard, with bespoke features and options that accommodate the precise requirements of our customers. Our ability to determine material flow properties and interpret these to deliver right first time solutions for our customers is influenced in part by our in-house testing facility featuring a state-of-the-art powder flow tester. Using the results obtained from this testing and in-house data and knowledge generated from 50 years of bulk materials handling experience, our design engineers can formulate the precise dimensions and specification appropriate to enable each machine to be built to carry out the function it is required to perform. On the rare occasions when things do not go completely according to plan, our responsive and well-complimented after-sales service will ensure that we remain completely committed to the project until everything is running as it should be.
For further information about our provision for the mineral, sand and cement industry, please click here.