Sometimes we get questions that are out of the ordinary. For example, can we make a stainless steel screw conveyor of 17.5 metres in one piece? The Van Mourik Group needed two long screws to fill silos of Feed Valid (previously Covaco) from Poederoijen. So far we had never done this, but we quickly calculated that it would be possible and so we went to work.
Feed Valid makes raw materials for the cattle feed industry. One of these raw materials is toasted soya product, a hot moist raw material that has to be transported a considerable height to be stored in silos.
Specialist in stainless steel screw conveyors
“An elevator was not an option for this, it would just not be feasible”, says project manager Edwin Mentink of the Van Mourik Group. “This is why we quickly chose the screw conveyor.” Because of the great height and the hot sticky product it was immediately clear that a stainless steel screw conveyor was needed for this. “This is why we approached Van Beek, the specialist in this field.”
First cooperation
Although the Van Mourik Group also makes screw conveyors itself and regularly uses screw conveyors in projects, this was their first cooperation with us. “Normally we focus more on a different market for which stainless steel is not necessary”, explains Mentink.
Technically good solution
This first cooperation went well for Mentink. “There was good interaction between the engineering department of Van Beek and our own. Van Beek came up with a technically good solution.” The pusher screws for filling the vertical screws were also supplied by Van Beek. “Everything fitted together well and it was also delivered quickly”, says Mentink.
Specifications
In the end we supplied one SS304 vertical screw of 17.5 metres and one of 14.5 metres, each fitted with a pusher screw to keep it filled. The capacity of each screw is around 30 tonnes per hour. The energy consumption of the ‘short’ screw is 30kWh and of the long screw 37 kWh.
Exploring new boundaries
Our sales manager Peter Verhoeven looks back with satisfaction. “It is always interesting to explore a new boundary. We have already made horizontal screws of 30 metres and more but we had never made such a long vertical screw in one piece.”
Greater heights overcome with screw conveyors
We have in the past overcome greater heights with vertical screw conveyors, but these involved several separate screw conveyors and not one screw in a single piece.
More forces on a vertical screw conveyor
A vertical screw is exposed to more forces because it has to run at a certain speed if it wants to get the product to the right place. “If it turns too slowly, it cannot convey the product”, explains Verhoeven. “That in combination with the great height that we had to overcome made this project even more interesting.”
