We are a little later in the month than normal, but welcome to the March issue of the PowderHandling Newsletter. We have been finalising the details of the May Auckland Powder Handling Seminar, so that we could release them in this newsletter. So I am pleased to announce that registration is now open for this event and to aid in streamlining the registration process, we are now able to accept on-line credit card payments. (Credit card payment is optional)

It has been another exciting month since our last newsletter. We ran our first Powder Handling and Processing Seminar in Sydney, from which we received some excellent feedback. A report on this very popular event, with feedback comments and photographs are now available on the web site. (Click here to read the report.) It is also very gratifying to see our recognition in the industry becoming even more widely acknowledged. We have been approached by the International Powder/Bulk Expo 2007, being held in Shanghai, China in October, to promote this exhibition in Australia and New Zealand, but more importantly, to organise an Australia/NZ pavilion at this event. So we are very proud to be able to assist Australasian companies in our industry, to promote their businesses at this major international event.

Our goal at Powder Handling has always been to build and grow a resource for the industry, that the industry wants. Henry Ford said, " If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own." So what is your view point of this industry resource we are building? How can we make it grow and become even better? If you have any thoughts or comments, please email them to me (anonymously if you wish). I look forward to hearing what you have to say and incorporating your ideas into our business plan.

Thank you for your continued support!!


Paul Nutter
PowderHandling.com.au
Phone: 61 (0)431 022 066
Email

In This Months Newsletter:

Special Announcement
March’s Featured Company – Kockums Bulk Systems
Auckland Powder Handling Seminar Details
Featured Article – ATEX Compliant Rotary Valves
International Powder/Bulk Exhibition, Shanghai, China (IPB 2007)
Special Feature - The Importance of Proper Conveyor System Maintenance Inspections
Top 20 Most Visited Suppliers
Other Industry News and Articles
Newsletter Contributions
Final Thought

Special Announcement:

It has come to our attention that during the past few weeks, due to a technical glitch, some of the enquiries sent through the "Information Request Form" with each company listing, have not been received. This problem has now been resolved and proper functionality has now been restored. So if you sent an enquiry through the PowderHandling web site in the past few weeks and did not receive any response at all, could you please resend your enquiry and it will receive the appropriate attention. Please note that enquiries sent using the email links on our web site should not have been affected. Apologies to both our listed suppliers and web site users for this inconvenience.

March's Featured Company:

Kockums Bulk Systems (KBS) is well known for the supply of Pneumatic Conveying systems after almost four decades operating in Australasia. Specialising in the energy efficient dense phase method of pneumatic conveying, a wide range of powders has been handled in that time giving the company a huge body of experience in the industry. To supplement that experience, the company has a policy of testing and evaluating all materials under consideration, and to that end, maintains one of the largest full scale test plants for pneumatic conveying in Australia.

More....>

Auckland Powder Handling & Processing Seminar

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for our first New Zealand Powder Handling & Processing Seminar, which is being held in Auckland on the 24th May 2007 at Sorrento in the Park in One Tree Hill Domain.

This is a one day seminar, which runs from 9.00am to 5.00pm (approx) and features five very interesting and informative presentations by experts in these individual fields.

Full details of each presentation, costs and inclusions, details of the venue and online registration form are available on the web site now. Click here to find all the details.


Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Email us for more information.

Featured Article

Although Australasian companies are not directly affected by the European ATEX Directives unless they are exporting to the EC, European companies across industry, from equipment suppliers to system designers to end users should now be aware of the ATEX Directives and their implications. Under ATEX 95, manufacturers of components, equipment or protective systems in particular, had to achieve ATEX certification for any new equipment supplied for use in a hazardous dust or gaseous environment by July 1st 2003.

Equipment or Protective System? – There are two fundamental types of ATEX approval for a rotary valves, depending if the valve is simply required to operate safely in a classified area or act as an explosion containment device.

In the first case, the valve needs to be ATEX certified to guarantee that it will not present an ignition source, either electrically or mechanically generated that could initiate an explosion in the environment that it is operating. This environment will have been classified as a particular “Zone” (for example by the users own risk assessment or by an independent expert), depending on the frequency of presence of a potentially explosive atmosphere and whether it is a dust or gaseous hazard, or both. The exact valve specification will depend on the zone in which it is certified to operate. These valves are known as “Equipment”.

More....>

International Powder/Bulk Exhibition, Shanghai, China (IPB 2007)

We are very pleased to advise that PowderHandling has been appointed official agents for Australia and New Zealand for the 5th Annual International Powder & Bulk Exhibition (IPB 2007), to be held in Shanghai, China from the 23rd to the 25th October 2007.

We will be organising an Australian/NZ Pavilion at IPB 2007, joining international pavilions from the Japan, Germany, France and the UK and will be happy to supply detailed information to any Australasian company interested in being part of this major International event, which is the gateway to the Asian Powder & Bulk Materials Handling Industry.

More....>

Special Feature:

There is little doubt that belt conveyors and bucket elevators are two of the most reliable and economical ways to move materials from A to B. However, to ensure the longevity of this type of equipment, the issue of proper care and maintenance must be fully considered.

There are many reasons for conveyor failure, but regular inspection and subsequent planned preventative maintenance is always far more efficient and less costly than breakdown downtime and repair. And it should be noted that both conveyor belt and bucket elevator maintenance, not only includes proper care of the belt, but also includes care and maintenance of the hardware, which includes idlers, pulley, belt cleaners etc.

Often though, it is not just a lack of proper maintenance that leads to failure. For example, belt speeds and feed configurations or even the feed material, may have been changed to meet new production requirements. However, what may seem like a simple adjustment to meet demands, can cause ongoing problems for the conveyor by affecting the belt tension and the counterweight or take up arrangement may not be applicable to the new belt speed or capacity. This in turn can reduce the life of the belt, componentry and be the route cause of material spillage........

More....>

Top 20 Most Visited Suppliers

The current 20 most popular companies on the Suppliers Directory are:-

1) Flexicon Corporation (Australia) Pty Limited
2) Fresco Systems Australasia
3) Matcon Pacific Pty Ltd
4) Kinder & Co Pty Ltd
5) Nu-Con Australia Pty Ltd
6) Filtaire Products Pty Ltd
7) Davey Group
8) CAS Enterprises Ltd
9) NDA Engineering Ltd
10) Downer MBL Ltd
11) Total Engineering Systems Pty Ltd
12) NTR Engineers Pty Ltd
13) Trans Tasman Engineering Ltd
14) Hisen Equipment Pty Ltd
15) Trans-Tainer Pty Ltd
16) Kockums Bulk Systems Pty Ltd
17) Downer MBL Pty Ltd
18) Aust-Mech Australian Conveyor Systems
19) Control Automation Pty Ltd
20) Bulk Handling Global

Other Industry News and Articles

Regular articles and news items are always being added to the PowderHandling.com.au web site. Click on the links below to read some of the recent additions, or click here to go to the articles page and read all currently available articles.

Largest Australian Screener at Cargill Beef
Wet Scrubbers
Matcon "Track Record" System
Conveyor System Maintenance Inspections
Non-Intrusive Acoustic Wave Transmitter
Elevator Buckets for Diverse Applications
Ultra-Web Nanofibre Cartridge Filters
Moisture Analysers

Newsletter Contributions

If you have any newsworthy items such as new product announcements, recently received orders, completed projects, new appointments etc., please email your contributions to us. Relevant items will also be included on the web site. Please note that inclusion of any contribution is solely at the editors’ discretion and editorial content may be modified without notification.

Final Thought:

"Live as if everything you do will eventually be known." - Hugh Prather