According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "Independent" means i) free from outside control or influence ii) not connected with another; separate. But why have I started this month's newsletter with an English lesson?

Well, on a few occasions over the past month, questions have been asked of me about the independence of the PowderHandling web site and about my own associations with certain suppliers. So for those with any doubt, let me set the record straight.

Firstly, I am no longer associated with any supplier in the industry, either by employment or contract. PowderHandling is a completely independent business owned and operated by myself. Some of the companies I have been previously associated with are now taking advantage of the promotional opportunities offered by PowderHandling, or are making presentations at our seminars, but this is a business relationship between PowderHandling and the relevant company.

Secondly, PowderHandling is in no way associated with the Australian Bulk Handling Review Magazine. ABHR is from the stable of magazines owned by Informa Australia (Part of Informa PLC) and PowderHandling does not have any relationship with either ABHR or Informa.

So the business and resources of PowderHandling and anyone associated with the business are truly independent in that we are not connected with any other business and we are free form outside control or influence.

With that cleared up, I am very pleased to be able to announce the pending release of a new part of our business. In July, we will be launching a new resource, dedicated to the Pharmaceutical (and associated) Processing Industries in Australia and New Zealand. Based on the same successful format as PowderHandling, once launched, PharmaProcessing.com.au will offer similar resources to PowderHandling, only it will be dedicated to the Pharmaceutical Processing Industries.

Companies listed on PowderHandling.com.au supplying equipment to the pharmaceutical processing industry, who wish to be listed on this new exclusive resource, should send their details by email and include a list of products or services offered to the industry.

Anyone wishing to receive further updates about PharmaProcessing.com.au and receive the PharmaProcessing e-newsletter, can sign up now on the form currently available at www.pharmaprocessing.com.au, where you will also find an overview of what this new industry resource will offer.

As always, I hope you find this month's newsletter of interest and thank you for supporting the resource that supports the local Powder Handling and Processing Industry.

We are very pleased to welcome Aims Industrial, Klausen Process Machinery and Innovative Conveying Systems International as elite GOLD Members on PowderHandling.com.au. Click on their logo to view their profiles.

The community of suppliers on PowderHandling.com.au continues to grow. I would like to welcome the latest companies to list:

USDA Compliant Rotary Valves

DMN-WESTINGHOUSE has been designing and manufacturing rotary valves, diverter valves and other related components for the bulk solids handling industry for more than 30 years. Offering tailor made solutions for chemical, food, plastics and pharmaceutical industries, DMN-WESTINGHOUSE products are distributed worldwide.

An extensive network of subsidiaries, distributors and representatives ensures a high level of service and support all over the world. In the Asia Pacific region, DMN are represented by Singapore based RAP Engineers, whose sister company, NTR Engineers, services the Australasian market. In addition to their extensive range of standard components, the company supplies USDA accredited sanitary versions and ATEX approved explosion-proof models.

The aim of our seminars is to provide information that is relevant to you and your industry. Information you can take back and use on a day to day basis. They are designed to be informative without being “too technical”, so they appeal to all knowledge levels within the industry – from Production to Senior Management and Maintenance Fitter to Engineering Manager.

Our seminars are also an ideal networking opportunity, where users can meet and interact with other users and they provide the opportunity for end users and suppliers to meet outside the usual “buyer / seller” environment.

Next Seminar - Perth WA:

There are still a few places left for the next seminar in Perth on 26th July, but these are expected to go quickly as the date approaches.

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. The program includes:

1/- Conveyor Systems - The importance of proper conveyor system maintenance inspections
2/- Product Testing & Its Importance Relevant to Silo/Hopper Design
3/- Abrasion Resistant Materials & Their Application in the Industry
4/- Product Sampling
5/- The use of Impact Weighers in the bulk materials handling idustry

Full details of each presentation, costs and inclusions, details of the venue and online registration form are available here.

Bagging and Batching System for Prestige Concrete Additives Prestige Concreting Additives has been successfully supplying concreting additives to local and export markets for 12 years. However, operator health and safety issues and a need to increase throughput, meant that the company had to improve the blending operation at their of Carrum Downs factory.

The system that was in use at Prestige was typical of so many manual blending operations. The 6 tonne capacity ribbon blender was directly manually loaded with the required formulation, bag by bag. This was time consuming, and labour intensive with a lot of double handling of the bags. It was also very physically demanding work.

The rating for our top 10 suppliers, is based on the number of times each companys listing on the Suppliers Directory of the PowderHandling web site has been viewed by users of the web site.

The current 10 most popular companies on the Suppliers Directory are:-

Dust Collector Rentals have recently introduced their new vacuum loader unit, known as "The Hornet". This is a fully self contained, powerful and extremely versatile industrial vacuum loader system, which is a very cost effective and efficient alternative to the tradition vacuum truck.

The Hornet, which is designed and manufactured in Australia by Dust Collector Rentals, is a unique trailer mounted vacuum system capable of vacuuming a variety of materials and depositing into a bulk bag (FIBC) or waste skip.

With a conveying capacity of up to 10 tonnes per hour and suitable for one man operation, The Hornet is ideal for the most arduous of cleaning jobs, including hazardous dusts applications and is being successfully used for insulation removal, coal, cement, cullet and spent abrasives etc.

The rating for our top 10 equipment searches, is based on the number of times each equipment category on the Equipment Directory of the PowderHandling web site has been viewed by users of the web site.

The current 10 most popular equipment categories are:-

Kinder & Co has long been known as a leader in the bulk materials handling industry in Australia, never standing in the way of progress either for themselves or their customers.

Their innovative approach to the industry has now extended to their product marketing techniques, with the recent introduction of their unique “Conveyor Road Show.”

Kinder & Co Managing Director, Mr Neil Kinder explains, “This is a new way of doing business. It allows us to take a fully functioning conveyor on the road, put it in front of the people that matter and show them that this is how Kinder is doing it.”

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.

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 may also be included in the “News & Events” section of the web site. Please note that inclusion of any contribution is solely at the editors’ discretion and editorial content may be modified without notification.