KALAMAZOO, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2003--Prab, Inc., which operates under two divisions, Prab Conveyors and Hapman Conveyors, and is a leading provider in the design and manufacturing of conveyors, metal scrap reclamation systems, and bulk material handling equipment and systems for a wide variety of industrial markets throughout the world, announced today that it has received a merger proposal from an investor group led by Gary A. Herder, President and CEO of Prab, that will have the effect of taking Prab private.

The proposal, dated July 23, 2003, included in its terms a provision that the shareholders of Prab would be offered a price of $2.00 per share. An Independent Special Committee of Prab's Board of Directors has been appointed to review and negotiate the merger proposal and report back to Prab's Board of Directors.

Prab, Inc. currently operates two divisions, Prab and Hapman.

The Hapman division, acquired in 1972, also had its roots in conveying and has since expanded its products to include an impressive line-up of equipment to facilitate the movement of powders and bulk solids. Hapman serves the Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Food, Plastics, Mining and waste water treatment industries. ( www.hapman.com )

Prab's headquarters incorporates sales, engineering, customer service, and fabrication in a clean, modern 70,000 square foot manufacturing facility located between Chicago and Detroit.

Contact:  Robert W. Klinge, Prab, Inc., 269-382-8200

Salina, Kansas -- The award winning Salina Vortex Seal Tite Gravity Diverter valve is now available in a 3-way model. The Seal Tite can be used in gravity flow applications to divert the flow of dry bulk material from a single source to any of three destinations. The it's design utilizes the same unique features of the other Seal Tite valves.

Seal Tite Diverters are engineered to address many problems that have been inherent to traditional flapper style diverters that handle dry bulk material.  Features include:

• The design of the diverter directs material flow away from the leading edge of the flapper vane.
• An access door allows replacement of the flapper vane or seal, if warranted, without having to remove the diverter.
• A live-loaded, wear compensating, polymer shaft seals contains material around the vane shafts-eliminating cross-contamination of materials to the off leg.
• An optional Clean-In-Place access panel with spin knobs allows for quicker access to the interior of the diverter for inspection, cleaning or sanitation purposes.

3-Way Seal Tite Gravity Diverters are made of carbon steel or stainless steel. They are available in 4" through 18" square sizes (square to round transitions available). They can be ordered with an air cylinder actuator, an electric linear actuator, chain wheel or hand lever actuator.

Salina Vortex Corporation is a leading manufacturer of slide gates and diverter valves for handling dry bulk material. The gates and valves may be used in dilute phase, dense phase or gravity flow conveying systems. Products handled range from plastics, minerals and chemicals to foods, pharmaceuticals and fibers. Fabricated gates and diverters are easily custom configured.

For more information contact:
Mr. Kevin Peterson
Salina Vortex
3024 Arnold Avenue
Salina, Kansas 67401
Telephone: 785-825-7177
Email:  kevinp@salinavortex.com
Web Site:  http://www.svortex.com/

Uzwil, Switzerland --Feed premixes are produced in Bogdanovitch. Buhler is a specialist in the design and construction of premix plants, where hygiene and accurate blending are demanded. The experience of Buhler ensures that this all still functions at –35 degrees Celsius.

When you look out of the windows of the feed mill in Bogdanovitch in wintertime, you will see houses cowering in the snow. The small town of Bogdanovitch is located east of the Urals and is already part of Siberia. The next major city is a two-hour drive away over frozen roads, in a car with a driver from the Bogdanovitch feed mill if you are from Buhler. For Buhler engineers are highly esteemed by Anatoli V. Sisikov, the feed mill’s general manager. And this has been so for years now.

Everything began in 1997. Back then, a number of people from Buhler made one of those visits to the feed manufacturing plant at the edge of Siberia with which they maintain their good customer relationships. The feed mill in Bogdanovitch used to be the largest livestock feed producer in the Yekaterinburg region.

Anatoli Sisikov knew about the proverbial reliability of Buhler equipment. One year later, the group met again, and Sisikov already had new plans: He wanted to produce premixes himself and thereby reduce his high expenses of importing them from Europe. And, of course, he wanted a Buhler system to manufacture them, since – he said – globally renowned premix producers also rely on Buhler. That was reason enough for Sisikov to count on market leader Buhler to supply the equipment.

Accurate blending saves money

Premixes are a preliminary blend of feed additives where vitamins, minerals and other additives are intermixed with a carrier material. These substances must be added at a highly accurate rate to the carrier material, since insufficient or excessive quantities may impair livestock health.

Moreover, if the addition rate is too high, this means you will be wasting a lot of money. Take vitamins as an example: Any excessive amount of these expensive substances in the premix will not be assimilated by the animals’ bodies. The surplus will simply be discharged again with the animal’s urine. With an output of 2.5 metric tons of premix per hour – which translates into 5000 tons annually – every gram of expensive additives saved by high-precision Buhler weighing and blending technology counts. Little wonder, then, that Buhler engineers are offered the services of a company driver from the Bogdanovitch feed mill.

Buhler is a global Technology Group and System Partner for plant and equipment and for process expertise in the fields of Food Processing, Chemical Engineering, and Die Casting, with a worldwide payroll of about 6,300.

Source:  http://www.buhlergroup.com/

Peterborough, Canada, -- The new Milltronics MCS belt scale from Siemens is a compact, rugged unit for use in mobile crushers, aggregate screening plants, and other applications with little headroom.

It features triple beam stainless steel load cells for highest accuracy, long-term reliability and low maintenance. It handles load cells from 23 to 45 kg (50 to 100 lb), and heavy duty belt widths up to 1067 mm (42"). A 113kg (250 lb.) load cell is available for mobile crusher applications.

It is designed for the severe vibration and harsh operating conditions found in mobile crushers and screening plants. This field-proven technology has been extensively tested with more than 50 scale systems already installed. On mobile crushers, it is typically used with a Milltronics BW 100 integrator in an anti-vibration steel enclosure and a Milltronics TASS trailing arm speed sensor.

The modular design and universal mounting makes it easy to install and commission. The package includes a calibration weight arm and calibration weight.

Siemens Milltronics Process Instruments Inc. is a Siemens company that designs and manufactures sophisticated measurement instruments used by the water and wastewater, aggregate, cement, mining, chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas, milling, food and other process industries. Principal product lines include level measurement, dry solids flow measurement, and process protection devices.

Source:  http://www.sea.siemens.com/ia

People post their requests for help and offer their suggestions to others in our open forum.

Mr. Gudur needs help with grinding mica:

We are interested in chaser/pan mill suitable for wet grinding of mica flakes.

Feed size: 20-80 mesh
Output:: 325 mesh with 2% retention on screen

We need an output of 8 tonnes of final dried product per day of 16 hrs.  Other manufacturers are using chaser mills (also known as pan mill?) for grinding.

Kindly help us in location a cost effective plant for grinding as above, dewatering/filtration of slurry/drying /packing.  The characteristics of mica flakes (flaky) are different than the other minerals .
(Click here to post a reply)

Awaiting help, regards,
Mohiddin Gudur
Email: ghouse8@yahoo.com

Click here to share your expertise with others in our Help Forum.

FOR SALE: Clayton Industries Steam Generator
This 500 BHP, 17,250 lb. per hour unit will be taken out of service in late July 2003 and released for sale. Unit is complete with 5/04 PLC processor, back pressure regulator and feed water tank. Has operated under maintenance contract. Buyer pays for removal and transportation. Click photo for more details

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This weeks photo is of a green bean repacking line fed by a vibratory conveyor system supplied by Cox & Plant Products Ltd. of Stourbridge, UK.  For over 30 years, Cox and Plant have been a leading supplier of material handling solutions to the dry, snack food and frozen food industries.

Photo courtesy of Andy Cox of Cox & Plant Products Ltd. 

Send us your photos:  We would love to have your photo of a bulk materials process, packaging, conveying or handling "action shot" for our home page.  Send your photograph and description to: news@powderandbulk.com