Powderflight installed without delay for corn cob grit application

Potter Group Logistics selected Powderflight conveyor after successful test

Located in the UK, Potter Group Logistics provides high-quality freight, warehousing, distribution, and logistics services to clients from five national distribution centres.

Potter Group has a total of 1.6 million square feet of warehousing and 250 acres of external bulk storage. Each centre is fully equipped to handle most packaged or bulk configurations, including palletised and block-stacked goods, parcels, boxes and cartons, drums, paper reels, ISO containers and bulk materials.

Customer: Potter Group
Industry: Logistics
Materials: Cosmetic Powders
Equipment: M-100 Powderflight Conveyor

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challenges

01 - challenges

Potter Group was asked by a client to move a fine sand-like material that was used in the pharmaceutical industry. During the conveying process, this product had to be transferred from bulk bags to tanker trucks. The key requirements that Potter Group needed to successfully convey the product included:

the product had to be conveyed “contamination free”
conveying had to be secure, with no loss of product
equipment had to be fast and easy to use
the solution had to be cost effective

custom-
erization

02 - challenges

Potter Group contacted UniTrak to investigate if the M-100 Powderflight™ aeromechanical conveyor could be a potential solution for their conveying challenge.

In every customer project, UniTrak undertakes a detailed application review before proposing any solution. In this case, UniTrak representatives made an initial visit to Potter Group’s facility in Knowsley, which offloads, handles, stores, and ships pharmaceuticals. The purpose of this visit was to assess the application and material, together with the operating environment and space in which any solution would be implemented.

UniTrak decided to conduct a product test before recommending the M-100, or, indeed, any other equipment solutions.

The product test took place at UniTrak Powderflight’s manufacturing facility in Derbyshire, with the General Manager of Potter Group Logistics in attendance. A sample of the actual product to be conveyed was used in the test. The test was successful, validating the M-100 Powderflight as the best choice for the corn cob grit application.

Like all UniTrak solutions, the Potter Group’s Powderflight conveyor was built-to-order, with every feature custom selected for the specific application. It included:

Outriggered bearings prolong bearing life
Twin tension screws ensure easy adjustment for maintenance
A geared motor drive allows for speed selection to optimize performance and prolong life
Optional integral feed screw offers low headroom in-feed solutions, as well as consistent feeding of different materials
A dust hood (a dust containment option) conforms to all health and safety requirements
An inspection hatch provides easy access for cleanout and for adjusting rope tension
Frame construction can be mild steel or stainless steel
Standard or tailor-made infeed arrangements optimize performance

solutions

03 - challenges

The M-100 Powderflight conveyor, which works by propelling product through a conveying tube, met all of the Potter Group’s requirements:
• No separation of blended products
• Minimal attrition of fragile particles
• Filters are not required on the receiving vessel
• Self-emptying allows for dedicated batches of product to be conveyed
• Provides dust-tight conveying, so there is no contamination or loss of product
• Can operate at any angle, so, if the specifications of tankers were to change, the conveyor could be adjusted easily
• Enables regulation of the feed of the product, which allows material to be moved from one-tonne bulk bags to a tanker in just four minutes

The last attribute above was one of the most significant for Potter Group. During the product test, UniTrak engineers discovered that a key to achieving successful conveying of the fine (sand-like) material was to optimize control of the infeed rate, thus enabling the conveyor to operate at capacity.

For Potter Group, the M-100 Powderflight was the optimal solution for their conveying challenge and application. UniTrak’s thorough approach to testing, and customizing the equipment to satisfy all requirements, gave Potter Group Logistics the confidence to diversify its services for customers.

“The team at UniTrak were professional and knowledgeable, and they really put their machines through their paces at the testing facility. We were so confident that their M-100 was the machine we needed, we didn’t hesitate in getting them to install it.”

– Bryan Mulvey, General Manager at Potter Group Logistics

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