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Wimmers – Rising to a Queensland occasion

Queenslanders have been quenching their thirst with Wimmers top quality soft drinks since 1910.

 

In 2012 four local business people bought this proudly Australian company with a view to growing Wimmers’ iconic brand.  They began work on a proposed 2014/15 move to a new production facility on the outskirts of their historic Cooroy home base.

 

The challenge

Wimmers needed to update their system for handling and dissolving bulk sugar. Their established practice of using fork lifts to elevate and empty 1250kg bulk bags into two dissolving tanks was onerous and dusty. It was also impossible to regulate the flow of sugar and align it to production schedules.

 

While the company wanted to retain the two dissolving tanks, they needed a faster, cleaner and better controlled feeding system.

 

The solution

 

Wimmers contracted Beel Welding and Fabrication to work on their plant relocation. Based on their knowledge of Floveyor’s superior sugar handling capacities, Beel recommended our services and provided background on the project to begin our scoping process.

 

The Floveyor team visited the Wimmers sites in late 2014. As a result of these visits, we added a number of timely modifications to our original proposal to mitigate the effects of humidity on sugar and the impact of intermittent storm related breaks in power supply.

 

Fast, flexible elevation and distribution

 

We proposed an F3 Floveyor to elevate the sugar from floor level into either tank using a pneumatically operated two-way diverter at the outlet point. A forklift bulk bag loading system would supply the Floveyor.

 

Maximum flow, minimal disruption

 

Floveyor’s unique aero-mechanical technology aerates conveyed materials and promotes flow. However, when humid Queensland conditions activate sugar’s hygroscopic propensity to form lumps, equipment blockages and delays in dissolving can occur.

 

A lump breaker fitted between the bulk bag outlet and the F3 Floveyor inlet addressed this problem. A spring return pneumatic baffle to shut off the product flow when the power fails protects the equipment from storm related damage

 

Electrical safety interlocks fitted to all quick release access points make for straightforward, rapid cleaning without the need for tools to open the system.

 

The results

 

The new Wimmers factory began operating at full capacity just three months after we received the order for the F3 Floveyor and ancillary equipment in May 2015. Floveyor’s distinctive modular design and our thorough scoping process made for an efficient, integrated installation by Beel Welding and Fabrication.

 

Wimmers