iBulk to represent Bepex

Bepex Logo

“We are very excited to include a comprehensive range of size reduction, thermal drying and agglomeration equipment by adding Bepex to the American Companies we currently represent,” said Tony Webber, managing director of iBulk Solutions.

Bepex already has a history of installations in Australia, which they have achieved by combining technology with a detailed understanding of the customers' applications. The applications include food, chemical and mineral industries. We will be adding some additional information to our website to highlight the world-class equipment of Bepex manufacturers. These include the MS Roll Compactor, REH Disintegrator and Solidaire.

Bepex’s origins date back to the 1900s in the form of three separate entities: Strong-Scott, Komarek Greaves and Rietz Manufacturing. After acquiring all three brands, Berwind Corporation launched a line of products under the Bepex banner in the 1970s. Th e Hosokawa Micro Group owned Bepex Corporation from 1993 to 2004, when a management buyout led to its current incarnation as Bepex International LLC.

iBulk: Finding the Sweet Spot

Finding solutions to assist clients get themselves out of sticky situations is a challenge that the team at iBulk® always enjoys. So when Bilfinger Berger Services knocked on the door to discuss the screening requirements for the rebuilding of the Yarraville Sugar Terminal in Melbourne, they knew it was a project that they could really sink their teeth into.

The requirement was to provide a solution to screen 120tph of sugar into the requirement of graded and caster sugar.

“It sounds simple when you describe it like that, but we actually worked on this project for two years prior to the order placement,” remarked Tony Webber, managing director, iBulk® Solutions. “This process involved working closely with several consulting engineers who were specifying the machinery for this plant upgrade.”

iBulk’s work history proved invaluable in the research and design phase, as they were able to draw on their broad range of experience to correctly specify the right machinery for the job.

“We were fortunate to have worked on many similar installations at a number of local sugar refineries and this experience played a major role in our ability to meet the client’s requirements,” explained Tony. “In addition, our long association with Rotex enabled us to access additional research data from installations around the globe.”

After all the options were considered, the final solution was to install three iBulk® Rotex 70 Series Gyratory Screeners to handle the grading and screening requirements at the sugar terminal, each of which handles one third of the total tonnage required.

“In addition to this requirement there was the need to ensure that at the out loading end of the graded sugar process all oversize contaminants were removed” explained Mr Webber.

This resulted in iBulk® installing three more Rotex Gyratory Screeners. Two of the machines have been installed to serve as Graded Sugar Scalpers and the other as a Caster Sugar Scalper.

Because of the unique challenges that working in the food industry brings, iBulk® had to ensure that in all cases clean surfaces were maintained through the use of stainless steel, aluminium and FDA approved materials. In addition, all carbon steel was hot dipped galvanised and intrinsically safe instrumentation was installed to monitor heat to prevent potential dust ignition.

“The success of this project is really a testament of our ability to work closely with the client and their consulting engineers to ensure the right outcomes for all parties involved,” added Tony.

Beefing Up the Profit

In a recent study, Meat and Livestock Australia investigated the cost of rendering at several plants throughout Australia*. Their investigations revealed that the cost of producing one tonne of rendered product ranged between $130 and $253.

Meat Technology update has reported the rendering product contributes approximately three to seven percent of the revenue from cattle and sheep processing. Whilst there is some fluctuation there has been little change over the last 15 years.

“As you can see there is a massive variation between the per tonne cost and we believe that much of this can be associated with selection of the correct screening equipment,” said Mr Tony Webber, managing director, iBulk® Solutions Pty Ltd.

iBulk has been a major supplier of screening equipment to the industry and Tony was kind enough to share a little insight into the importance of selecting the correct equipment for processing Meat and Bones Meals (MBM).

“The obvious choice is Rotex. Its horizontal gyratory screening motion rapidly distributes the meat meal over the entire screen surface and conveys it without vertical vibration or hop,” explained Mr Webber. “This motion causes the hair and fluff to ball up and ride on top of the meal for easy removal by aspiration and/or discharge with other rejects.”

Tony went on to explain that the importance is retention time on the screen surface, which is increased when using the longer rectangular design of the Rotex compared to the use of circular screeners.

“Consider a round screen that has a nominal diameter of 1.8 m (72”); that means the average distance of travel from the inlet of the screen to the outlet can be as little as 915mm. In the case of a similarly sized Rotex machine, the transit distance from inlet to outlet is 3000mm and this increases the yield from the process.”

Yield is the amount of material separated out as product through screening and by increasing screening accuracy Rotex helps you maximise the recovery of on-size product and therefore increased profit results.

The Rotex screener features a unique bouncing ball system under the screen surface that helps prevent plugging and grease build-up. This freedom from screen blinding permits the use of smaller openings on the Rotex screens and thus more accurately sized meat meal product passing through the screen mesh.

“Accurate screening improves profitability and lowers processing costs,” remarked Tony. “Inefficient screening leaves excessive usable product in the rejects, so in effect it amounts to throwing money straight into the garbage,” he added.

To discover how iBulk® Solutions Pty Ltd can help you beef up your profits, call (03) 9768 3955 or visit www.ibulk.com.au.

Ecutec - A Fine Addition to iBulk’s Tailored Solutions

iBulk Solutions, are delighted to announce the introduction of Ecutec Barcelona S.L. to their range of top quality handling and processing equipment. This comes about as the result of Sweco’s recent acquisition of Ecutec Barcelona S.L. for whom iBulk is a licensed manufacturer.

Ecutec is a supplier of classifying, coating and grinding products for fine and ultra-fine powders from 150 microns to
1 micron specialising in wet and dry processes for products of 5 microns and below.  

“The addition of Ecutec to our already extensive range is a real coup,” said Tony Webber, managing director, iBulk Solutions. “If you take into account that we’re adding it to a list of world renowned brands like Rotex, Carrier, you’ll begin to comprehend the breadth of product and expertise we can access.”

Through the use of highly advanced computation flow dynamics modelling software Ecutec’s processing and handling equipment offers unprecedented performance in terms of capacity, fineness of cut, durability and cost effectiveness. Ecutec’s proprietary rotor manufacturing technology takes this performance even further providing the ability to operate at high tip speed leading to finer, more accurate separation.

Brenda Beers-Reineke, Sweco President said “This natural extension of the Sweco product line offers significant synergies....This addition of Ecutec positions Sweco as a single source for classifying material from 1 inch to 1 micron.”  

Tony Webber, expanded on Brenda Beers-Reineke’s statement adding, “The synergies this acquisition provide for Sweco are increased exponentially for iBulk.  This is the result of integrating the new range with our existing Rotex, Carrier Vibrating Equipment and iBulk® ranges in addition to the Sweco range. iBulk is now positioned as a single source for tailored solutions in classifying, conveying, screening and drying of materials of virtually any size.”    

The introduction of Ecutec serves as an ideal complement to iBulk’s existing range and is yet another step in their continued commitment to source and provide their customers with a tailored approach to the provision of bulk handling solutions.  iBulk® now boasts one of the broadest ranges of handling and processing equipment in the business.

Tony Webber remarked “What this really means for our clients is that we give them solutions that are tailored for their needs to an extent that was not previously possible. This ensures greater efficiency and cost effectiveness as well as broader application with less downtime and wastage.  At the end of the day they get a better solution with lower installation, operation, maintenance and opportunity costs.”

Full contact information and details of the products currently offered by iBulk Solutions Pty Ltd can be found on their website at www.ibulk.com.au.

iBulk Introduce Rotex High Capacity Mineral Separators to Australia

iBulk, one of Australia’s leading separation technology companies, recently announced the addition of the Rotex Mineral Separator and Megatex XD to their already impressive product range.

“The tendency for the process industry to want a greater capacity through screening equipment has been a common request in recent years,” said Tony Weber, managing director, iBulk Solutions. “We have seen mining screens increase in size and the “banana” styled screening machines that were once quite rare, are now more common place.”

The fine particle dry screening industry has not been resting on its laurels whilst these jumps forward in capacity have been taking place. Building on their strong relationship with Rotex Global LLC, iBulk has introduced the Minerals Separator and Megatex XD into its range to satisfy this demand.

“Three model series are available for a variety of general purpose and finer process screening applications,” explained Tony.

Included in the new range Minerals Separators are:

• 100 Series Screeners with 11.1 and 16.7 square metres of screen surface area.
• 200 Series Screeners with 19.5 and 26.0 square metres of screen surface area.
• 300 Series Screeners with 32.5 square metres of screen surface area.

“The iBulk Rotex Minerals Separator is ideal for applications in mined minerals and abrasives,” suggested Tony. “Their unique, vertical design allows operators to enjoy a higher capacity per square metre of cloth in a compact footprint compared with more conventional machines.

“The new range will provide superior performance in the separation of industrial sand and we’re confident of building our market share in this important industry segment,” he said.

In addition to innovative vertical design, the new Rotex Minerals Separators also have a number of other important features that set them apart from the competition including:

• Screen deck slope of 6^o to meet demanding glass, filter and frac sand specifications and maximise screen efficiency.
• The external drive cartridge allows continuous operation up to 200^oC.
• Abrasion resistant steel construction and “rockbox” landing areas for continuous impact on high-wear surfaces.
• Single or double inlet plenum options with sliding inlet connections and long life “Teflon” wear rings.

“We’re very excited about making these new products available in Australia and we’re confident that the unique design, high capacity and build quality will ensure their long term success,” added Tony.

For further information on the new range of Rotex Minerals Separators, contact iBulk® Solutions on (03) 9768 3955 or visit www.ibulk.com.au.

Picking up the Crumbs

iBulk: Tailoring Solutions for Clients Not Clients for Solutions

Quite often we take the simple things for granted, and one would imagine that making bread crumbs wouldn’t pose too many challenges, but think again.

New Food Coatings, a food product manufacturer found themselves facing quite an unusual problem, how to effectively and efficiently dry bread crumbs in order to prevent contamination, reduce the likelihood of mould setting in and ultimately prolong product life.  

“This was never going to be an off-the-shelf fix,” remarked Mr Tony Webber, managing director, iBulk. “When we started out, it quickly became obvious that our experience in dealing with unusual requests would really assist in providing a workable, cost effective solution.”

To identify, develop and design the process that would provide the desired results, iBulk’s R&D team worked closely with the client, whose parent company also provided valuable information, to bring together various elements that would ensure the project’s success.

iBulk is gaining a reputation in Australia for their ‘can-do’ attitude and when you consider that they combine this with A-grade manufacturing capabilities, you’ll quickly understand that their ability to design and build fine particle separation and processing equipment for the solid processing industry  is unique in this country.

“Delivering a solution that completely addresses the unique requirements of the project for New Food Coatings required us to work closely with the client and bring together a number of variables,” said Mr Webber. “But at the hub of this solution lies a fluid bed dryer and a SWECO separator.”

In this case the individually tailored solution included a fluid bed processing unit in which air or gas is passed through a bed of particulate matter via a perforated plate. This process lifts and mixes the solids as required.

“In addition we also added mechanical vibration to the system,” explained Mr Webber. “By continually agitating the material, the solids attain fluid like properties. This maximises the exposure of the particle surface areas to the process air, resulting in higher heat transfer rates and increasing operating efficiencies.

To top it all off, the process system that iBulk designed also allows New Food Coatings to mill the crumbs to specific sizes as required so it can be used in a wide variety of popular food items.

“You don’t find the question to fit the answer, you find the answer to fit the question and this is what we do at iBulk.  Our success lies in tailoring solutions for our clients not trying to make our clients fit our solutions” added Mr Webber.

The Sands of Time Never Stand Still

For the team at iBulk® even the most simple request can often lead to the development of interesting and innovative solutions that are designed to meet the exact requirements of a client’s specifications. A great example of this was when they were approached by a major mineral sand miner to screen titanium sand at 300µm.

“At face value that seemed a reasonable and run of the mill request that in most cases would be handled more than adequately by one of our standard screeners,” said Tony Webber, managing director, iBulk® Solutions. “But as we worked through the project specifications further with this particular client, it became more obvious that there were some unique requirements that we’d needed to consider to ensure their expectations were completely fulfilled.”

The research and development team at iBulk® had to contend with two major issues that separated this project from a standard screening install, dust extraction and space. Dust encapsulation was particularly important to reduce the chance of product contamination, while the iBulk® engineers also had to contend with a site where limited space was available in which to install the machines.

“These two individual, but equally important factors changed the ball game completely,” remarked Tony.”And combined they really set our design team with an interesting challenge.”

The solution was to start with Rotex 521 Gyratory Screener as the basis before making a large number of design modifications that would be incorporated into the build. The Rotex Screener is a highly efficient separator of dry bulk solids when presented with very fine particles.

“We redesigned the screen frames and the top cover of the machine so as to accommodate our client‘s requirements. At iBulk® we’re not just proprietary equipment providers, our design engineers are able to assess the customer’s needs and provide a suitable solution,” Tony explained.

To make matters even more complex, a key feature of the Rotex 521 Gyratory Screener is a unique ball cleaning system that is unsurpassed when working with products that have the tendency to blind screen surfaces.

“It was paramount to keep that feature intact no matter what other modifications needed to be made to the machine,” said Tony. “The ball cleaning systems sets this machine head-and-shoulders above the competition and our engineers didn’t baulk at the challenge, delivering a final design that maintained this feature by introducing new screen fixing methods to maintain a fully isolated system so as to ensure no contamination of the fines in the underflow could occur.

“When we measure screening efficiency we are determined that our machines offer efficiencies of greater than 95%,” Tony stated.  “This is what sets iBulk® apart from other types of screening machine equipment providers.”

Scalp more effectively with iBulk and Skim a bit more off the top

It’s quite common for industrial and mining businesses to focus on removing a specific size fraction of product from their feed stock before it is sent for future processing or packaging.

Often this is done with a vibrating screen requiring large vibrator motors and a considerable amount of steel for strength to perform a basic duty.

However, with the introduction of the revolutionary Hi-Cline™ machine to their already extensive range of screeners, iBulk® Solutions Pty Ltd can assist business owners scalp product more efficiently.

“It’s time for industrial and mining businesses to stop wasting money scalping product inefficiently,” said Mr Tony Webber, managing director, iBulk® Solutions Pty Ltd. “Our new Hi-Cline™ machine is designed to be the most efficient scalping machine for lump removal at higher capacities.”

Unlike conventional mechanical screens, the Hi-Cline™ body remains stationary and only the screening surface is excited. Excitation of the screen mesh is achieved by a series of out-of-balance vibrating motors connected to the screen surface by a specially designed torsion bar.

“The influence of these vibrators on the screen surfaces generates up to 11 G’s of screen force during operation, a value that is impossible to achieve with conventional screening equipment,” explained Tony.

Since the flow of material is achieved through stratification the Hi-Cline™ is installed at an angle greater than 30O. Single and double deck configurations are available and typical applications include Urea, Lime, Abrasives, Animal Feeds, Chemicals and various Minerals just to name a few.

“The introduction of the Hi-Cline™ is set to revolutionise the way that products are scalped and in these challenging economic times, innovations like this help reduce the cost of production and ultimately increase profit at the bottom line,” added Tony.

To discover how iBulk® Solutions Pty Ltd can help you reduce scalping costs and increase profitability, call (03) 9768 3955 or visit www.ibulk.com.au.