Washington, DC -- The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) has extended by three weeks the deadline and the discount for prospective visitors to pre-register for NPE 2003, it was announced today by Jordan L. Morgenstern, SPI’s vice president, trade shows. Sponsored by SPI, the triennial exposition takes place June 23-27 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

While registration on-site at the show will cost $75, the fee for those who pre-register by June 19 is $50. The previous deadline was May 23. The extension applies to those who register on-line at the NPE 2003 Website, www.npe.org or by fax or postal mail, and it includes those using guest invitations from exhibitors. Application forms for fax or postal registration can be downloaded from the Website.

“With nearly a month to go before the show, NPE 2003 already approaches the record number of exhibitors set by NPE 2000,” Morgenstern said, “and participation by international exhibitors has surged well beyond that of three years ago. For those who need to discover the latest plastics technologies or acquire a fresh perspective on global industry trends, attendance at NPE 2003 is an indispensable opportunity.”

As SPI announced the extension of the pre-registration deadline, the number of registered exhibitors stood at 1,926, only 4% less than the at-show total of 2,014 three years ago and 12% greater than the previous record for exhibiting companies, set in 1997. Fully 30% of exhibitors signed on thus far for NPE 2003 listed their headquarters in countries outside the U.S., as against 24.5% for NPE 2000.

“While growth in the number of exhibitors from outside the U.S. has been a continuing trend for NPE over several decades, the current increase represents a leap forward in the importance of NPE as an international event,” Morgenstern said.

NPE 2003, the premiere international plastics exposition, will take place from June 23 to 27, 2003 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, North America’s largest exhibition complex. Founded and sponsored by the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI), the triennial show will be the 24th NPE since 1946. The 2000 show set three NPE records: number of exhibiting companies (2,014), net exhibit space (1,142,900 sq. feet / 106,179 sq. meters), and number of registered participants (90,142). Visit www.npe.org.

For information on exhibiting, e-mail Hall-Erickson, Inc. at npe@heiexpo.com.  Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's 1,300 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.5 million workers and provides more than $320 billion in annual shipments. For more information, visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org. 

BUFFALO, N.Y., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Sore feet create discomfort, but imagine you're a 4,700-pound rhinoceros with hoof problems and only a concrete surface to trod.  Enter Goodyear's Flexsteel conveyor belt. Designed for coal transport, it is being used at the Buffalo Zoo in a stall for Henry the Rhino, a member of an endangered specie.

But Henry isn't being conveyed anywhere. The belt's rubber cover cushions the concrete surface, while its steel reinforcement stands up to the ground pressure of a two-ton animal. Goodyear, maker of the world's first steel-cable belt in 1942, was contacted by zoo veterinarians needing help for the 12-year-old Indian rhinoceros. Due to Henry's weight, cracks developed on his back 3-toed hooves, building up scar tissue, according to Veterinarian Frank Ridgley.

Sixty percent of U.S. captive male Indian rhinos suffer from the same condition. Ridgley prescribed a three-quarter-inch steel-reinforced belt with an operating tension of more than 2,000 pounds-per-inch-width. Goodyear donated the 48-inch wide belt, which was cut into 21-foot sections -- the length of Henry's stall. If successful, the prescribed Goodyear conveyor belt will be just what the doctor ordered.

"The only way to alleviate Henry's arthritic-type pain is to operate," said Ridgley. "The conveyor belt provides relief prior to surgery and during recovery." Buffalo-based Belt Maintenance Group, a Goodyear splice network member, helped install the belt. BMG's Joe Hooley said, "I actually think I saw Henry smile when he first walked onto his new cushioned floor."

Threatened by habitat loss and poaching, maintaining a captive population to guard against extinction of the wild population is essential to the Indian rhinoceros' survival.

"It's an unusual use for our belts," said Ray Paquin, manager of Goodyear's Marysville, Ohio plant, where the belt was manufactured, "but it's not the first time we've aided a suffering member of the animal kingdom."

A 350-pound sea turtle once received a fabric-reinforced rubber flipper designed and made by Goodyear, using a conveyor belt rubber compound. And today, recycled Goodyear conveyor belts cushion livestock stall floors. The Buffalo Zoo, with its diverse collection of wild and exotic animals, is the nation's third oldest.

Goodyear, in addition to being a global producer of heavy-duty and lightweight conveyor belts, is a leading industrial hose and power transmission products manufacturer.

For additional information, visit www.goodyearcvb.com

EXTON, PA, JUNE 2003 — As the world leader of custom-engineered grinding and dispersing systems, Netzsch now leads the nano-revolution in engineering production-sized Agitator Bead Mills designed to grind particles to 200 nanometers and below.

An alternative to difficult to clean ball mills and inflexible, noisy attritors, Netzsch horizontal Agitator Bead Mills are engineered to manufacture lighter, smaller, more resilient and stronger materials in a versatile high energy, high flow system design. Grinding with Netzsch bead mills is a top-down process, where particles with an initial fineness of 1 to 20 micrometers are milled to an average fineness of 40 to 200 nanometers using various types of grinding media.

In an enclosed vessel filled with grinding media, the agitator shaft in the Netzsch Bead Mill activates the media, creating shearing and impacting forces. The rotation of the agitator imparts energy to the surrounding media. These forces then act on the solids suspended in a liquid and either fracture, tear or crush the particulate, resulting in overall reduction in particle size.

The Netzsch patented Dynamic Cartridge Media Separator retains the media in the mill while the final product, now dramatically reduced in size, is evenly dispersed in the liquid. The Netzsch bead mill design is easy to operate, provides repeatable quality and precise temperature control, and requires less media than other designs.

Typical applications for this type of submicron size reduction system include pharmaceuticals, polishing compounds, pigments, printing inks, paints, agricultural chemicals and magnetic coatings.

Netzsch Incorporated is the North American subsidiary of the globally operating group of Netzsch companies. Netzsch is the world's leading manufacturer of wet and dry grinding and dispersion equipment, progressing cavity pumps and filtration systems. Netzsch Incorporated has been serving North America for more than 30 years.

Netzsch Incorporated
Telephone:  610-363-8010
Fax:  610-363-0971
E-mail: grinding@netzschusa.com
Web site: www.netzschusa.com

Uzwil, Switzerland -- Since the grain-processing industry was liberalized in the Sudan, the country has seen the rise of an exemplary and efficient milling industry. Port terminals in Port Sudan and strategically located mill storage silos guarantee reliable wheat deliveries.

Ship unloaders and port terminals in Port Sudan

Two of the biggest private millers operate Buhler ship unloaders and port terminals in Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Of special interest are the installations of Wheata Flour Mills and of Sayga Flour Mills. Both facilities have been designed to allow expansion if the need should arise.

At Wheata Flour Mills, a Buhler ship unloader of type Portalino discharges vessels at a peak rate of 300 metric tons per hour. The grain unloaded is moved by road to the nearby storage terminal. The first construction stage of the Wheata Flour Mills grain elevator currently makes provision for the storage of 37,500 tons of grain. Work on an expansion for an additional 25,000 tons has already started. Two independent chain conveyor systems allow simultaneous loading and unloading of the storage bins.

At Sayga Flour Mills, two Buhler ship unloaders discharge the grain from the ships. A mechanical Portalino and a recently installed Portanova complement each other excellently. The Portanova is a pneumatic unloader with an extended boom which is capable of unloading ships up to 60,000 DWT. Both unloaders together achieve a top unloading capacity of 550 tons per hour. Another advantage offered by this unloader is its extremely low total weight with a substantially reduced ground loading. Sayga Flour Mills also operates a grain terminal in Port Sudan, which has been continuously expanded to its current holding capacity of 45,000 tons.

Efficient grain logistics

Grain logistics comprises numerous aspects such as ship unloading, grain reception, weighing, cleaning, storage, turning-over, automation, and quality assurance. The related Buhler service package comprises detailed consulting, professional planning, and on-schedule implementation of projects including all the electromechanical components plus their installation and start-up.

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/

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

Mr. Behrens needs help with wetting bulk chemicals:

Hi, I am looking for a manufactured device that will wet bulk sodium sulfite or soda ash being pneumatically unloaded from a truck into a solution tank.  I want to minimize dust etc and mix solution with the new chemical.

Any ideas/leads appreciated.
(Click here to post a reply)

Thanks,
Greg Behrens
URS Corp.
greg_behrens@urscorp.com

Mr. Fanson needs to handle friable material:

We manufacture a granular iron oxide product which requires conveyor form our compactor on the first floor to screening system on the four floor. I am looking equipment that can gently convey it at 12,000 lbs/hr.

Presently, we use Gough Conveyor which a good job when it works. The major problems are maintenance cost and product clean up between product changeover.

We are looking for alternative equipment that has lower operating cost and quick cleaning.  (Click here to post a reply)

Thanks,
Ted Fanson
Elementis Holdings, Ltd.
ted.fanson@elementis-na.com

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TOLLING SERVICES: Micronizing & Processing

Custom Processing Services is a contract manufacturer/toll processor specializing in micronizing ultra-fine particle-sized materials for use in a wide range of products, including chemical powders, waxes, polymers, flame retardants, minerals, metals, fillers and pigments. Food-grade 21 CFR 110 processing is also available.

Wet media milling by CPS can achieve particle sizes in the nanometer range. Blending, coating and compounding services, plus custom packaging, allow CPS to ship materials processed to customer specifications anywhere in the world from their Southeastern Pennsylvania facility.  Click photo for more details

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Research Assistant Position Available

Research Assistant MPhil/PhD Studentship available in

“Direct on-line measurement of wall friction of coal as an indicator of handle-ability”
 
and
 
“Handling characteristics of biomass/coal mixes for co-firing: measurements techniques and establishing benchmarks”
 
The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, University of Greenwich (http://www.bulksolids.com) is an internationally recognized center of excellence in the field of particulate flow for the process industries. It has been pre-eminent within its specialist area of research since 1973. The Centre pursues a policy of facilitating the development of its researchers’ abilities.
 
Applications are invited for two 3 year positions as Research Assistant.  Both of the listed projects are heavily orientated towards industrial applications and have backing from major UK process companies.  
 
Candidates should have a good First or 2:1 degree in either an Engineering or Physics discipline preferably with content in Chemical, Mechanical or Instrumentation Engineering. Experience and/or education in Solids Handling Technology would be advantageous, but not essential.
 
A bursary for the 3 years research is available and is commensurate with the EPSRC scale.
 
Please send your full written CV with together with the name and contact details of two referees to:
 
The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology
University of Greenwich
Riverside House
Beresford Street
Woolwich
London SE18 6BU
 
Tel: +44 (0)208 331 8646
Fax: +44(0)208 331 8647
Email:  L.P.Whaley@gre.ac.uk

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© 1999-2003 Powder and Bulk Dot Com
Home page:  http://www.powderandbulk.com/

Joseph Taylor, Editor
Powder and Bulk Dot Com Newsletter
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Email:  jtaylor@powderandbulk.com

Powder and Bulk Dot Com's Newsletter is a 100% opt-in e-mail list of information for the materials handling professional.  Do you have company news, a new product, new service or other information you would like to share with our subscribers?  Please submit articles via e-mail, only to: news@powderandbulk.com

From rhino's to ports to nano-sized particles, we got it all in this week's newsletter, read on!

Our goal is to provide information to improve your business by using the resources available on the Internet.

Thanks,
Joe Taylor, Editor
jtaylor@powderandbulk.com

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Fluid Bed Technology in
Materials Processing
by C. K. Gupta, D. Sathiyamoorthy
Hardcover, 560 pages, February 1999

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Statics and Kinematics of
Granular Materials
by R.M. Nedderman
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Hardcover, 176 pages, February 2000

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Low-Profile, Bin-Bottom
Design Suits Cement
Guest article by Reinhardt Matye
President, DCL Inc.

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This weeks photo is of a vibratory conveyor feeding crushed ore into a Nerak continuous bucket conveyor.  The Nerak conveyor gently handles delicate products such as food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals as well as highly abrasive ores.

Photo courtesy of John Hellier of Nerak Systems LP

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