KLEN International (KLEN) is a world leading manufacturer of fire assay flux, x-ray flux and a range of other consumables for the mining and geochemical industries. A member of the American based VWR Group since 2012, KLEN export their products to 55 countries from facilities in Western Australia, Canada and the United States.
A robust and flexible conveyor system to handle complex materials
KLEN needed a material handling system that was sufficiently robust and flexible to handle borax, silica flour, soda ash, litharge and potassium nitrate at bulk densities between 800 and 8000 kg/m3. It needed to eliminate the excess wear and tear issues and handle an expanding stream of new and current materials with minimal or no downtime between batches.
Floveyor’s cutting-edge solutions for critical minerals
Having canvassed their options for an alternative chemical conveyor system, KLEN decided to build on their successful incidental history with Floveyor. A perfectly functional 30-year-old Floveyor F5 that had come with KLEN’s acquisition of Sigma Chemicals was relocated to the Neerabup facility. Production Manager, Phil Madden was also familiar with Floveyor’s capabilities from his experience in the dairy industry.
After a thorough review of KLEN’s operational requirements and extensive consultations with their team, we proposed a cost-effective solution that incorporated key elements of the existing plant including bulk bag unloaders, a bag dump station and sifters.
We modified existing equipment, carried out factory acceptance tests at our manufacturing facility and installed the new process line alongside the existing Floveyor F5.
To refine KLEN’s operations and solve the excess wear and tear issue we installed the following new Floveyor F4s:
- a tubular drag conveyor with multiple inlets transferring product from bulk bag and bag dump batching systems to the existing sifter
- a full speed Floveyor Endura F4 fed directly from the sifter and configured to elevate product vertically to two off batch mixers.
We also mounted the sifter on a mobile skid for more flexible operation and easier maintenance access and fitted a screw feeder to control the flow of product directly to the full speed F4 unit.
Custom conveyor system for fire assay flux, x ray flux and other fire assay consumables surpasses expectation
In partnership with KLEN, we designed an innovative, cost-effective chemical conveying system that went well beyond solving a persistent problem. KLEN’s reconfigured and upgraded system produces minimal product residue, cleans easily and quickly and is tough enough to handle their changing and often challenging range of materials.
Design consultation leads to better conveyor system solution
We like to give the last word to the person who matters most – our satisfied customer at KLEN, Production Manager Phil Madden.
“Due to the many issues we had with our existing operation we wanted to make sure that we selected the correct partner for the new facility. Working closely with the Floveyor team on the solution, pre order material testing at Floveyor and throughout the project proven that we made the right choice.
The new equipment and plant is more robust and easier to operate with minimal down time. Product residues in the system are minimal and cleaning and product changeover is extremely quick.
Any new powders, supplies or grades we have challenged the system with have not caused any issues in the slightest.
Due to better purchasing of our raw ingredients now we have a system that will handle them we expect a payback within 12 months.”
