Spiroflow IN ACTION
Customer requirements

Keeling & Walker Ltd of Stoke-on-Trent, UK is the world’s largest producer of Tin Oxide. Not only is Tin Oxide a very abrasive material, it is very difficult to handle: it smears, doesn’t flow well and readily bridges. So, back in early 2007, when Operations Manager, Martyn Pedley, came to replace a troublesome bucket elevator, he was concerned to find a conveyor that would be man enough for the job. And, in addition, he wanted to eliminate fugitive emissions to improve the working environment too. The problems with the bucket elevator were caused by the abrasive product getting into the chains and other mechanical parts. As a result, it had become too costly to maintain. Martyn Pedley did some research and concluded that either a Flexible Screw Conveyor or an Aero-Mechanical Conveyor would be possible solutions.

The second Aero-Mechanical Conveyor

Spiroflow solutions

Continuous trials at Spiroflow indicated that an Aero- Mechanical Conveyor was the ideal solution. This has been verified by the first ‘Spiroflow’ Aero-Mechanical Conveyor installed in March 2007 which has performed to Keeling & Walker’s satisfaction since. Over the last 2 years, Keeling & Walker have invested heavily in improving the efficiency of their production processes to remain competitive in their global market. Martyn Pedley set about upgrading the packaging lines to reduce their labour intensive nature and to eliminate dust in the atmosphere. To do this, additional conveyors were required to transfer Tin Oxide from the thermal process, to the storage hoppers above the packing machines. Martyn Pedley confirms, “Spiroflow Aero-Mechanical Conveyors were my automatic choice, I didn’t look elsewhere based on the performance of the unit installed in March 2007, the service that I received at that time and the after sales service I have enjoyed since. The fact that the conveyors are totally enclosed has made a massive difference to the cleanliness of our factory”. Keeling & Walker bought a further ‘Spiroflow’ Aero- Mechanical Conveyor in February 2008 and then 2 more in September 2008. The original conveyor is 3m long and operates vertically; the other three are 5 meters long and operate at around 50 degrees to the horizontal. The four ‘Spiroflow’ Aero-Mechanical Conveyors at Keeling & Walker all operate continuously 24/7.

The third and fourth Aero-Mechanical Conveyors