US-based bulk handling equipment design and manufacturing company Flexicon in July launched its new patented Block-Buster hydraulic bulk bag conditioner in South Africa, which ranges from short to extra-tall using hydraulically actuated rams that automatically adjust in height during conditioning cycles.

The rams of the new design provide about 2 m of vertical travel, about double the range of most conditioners, employing scissor lifts to raise the bag, while the fixed-height turntable reduces loading-deck height by about half.

The user can programme single or multiple heights at which the rams condition the bag, the amount of pressure applied by the rams’ contoured end plates, the frequency of ram actuations and the number of 90° rotations of the turntable, loosening solidi- fied materials throughout the bag for discharge through the bag spout.

The system controller can be mounted remotely or on the exterior of the safety cage, which incorporates full-height and safety-interlocked doors.

The 221 cm × 338 cm × 198 cm unit requires only an electrical power connection for operation and is available in stainless steel or carbon steel with durable industrial coatings.

Hydraulic bulk bag conditioners are used to loosen bulk materials that cannot be loosened by pneumatically actuated flow promotion devices integral to bulk bag dischargers.

Flexicon also manufactures bulk bag conditioners that use scissor lifts and conditioners integral to bulk bag dischargers, as well as bulk bag fillers, flexible screw conveyors, tubular cable conveyors, pneumatic conveying systems, manual dumping stations, drum/box/container tippers, weigh-batching systems and automated plantwide systems integrated into new or existing process equipment.

Worldwide Engineering, Testing, Manufacturing and Field Support

Flexicon is an international organisation with administrative, engineering and manufacturing capabilities on four continents. Its extensive worldwide network of applications engineers, authorised representatives and field- support technicians serve customers with a unique consolidation of bulk-handling specialists who have hundreds of years of combined experience.

The US-headquartered company’s personnel provide the knowledge and resources to meet the diverse requirements of individual process plants country by country, while providing the worldwide infrastructure, long-term vision, stability and single-source capability required by multinational organisations.

An extensive research and development programme continually sets new standards for bulk-handling equipment performance with entirely new designs, product improvements and equipment that complies with certifications required by government and industry associations for chemical, food, dairy and pharmaceutical applications in the US and internationally.

Flexicon’s design engineering staff devise efficient solutions for the most unusual problems using custom equipment, basing solutions on unique customer requirements and not merely on existing product-line offerings. This approach provides customers with the most efficient solution to solve their problems, and endows Flexicon with a depth and breadth of bulk handling experience.