New Air Compressor Design Helps Agricultural and Food Processing Industries Stay Competitive
Direct-drive air compressors allow high-output and fail safe production so American packers can stave off foreign competition.
(PRWEB) June 29, 2005 -- More a matter of survival than patriotism, general
managers and operations personnel of American peeling, packaging and other food
processing plants must maintain maximum product throughput, without fail, in
order to stem the increasing tide of imported agricultural products. As
pneumatic actuators and direct-air blasts perform the bulk of processing duties
in most plants, packers find themselves turning to a new, direct-drive air
compressor design to ensure maximum output and reliability.
No where
else is this more the case than in the garlic industry, as garlic from China now
accounts for two-thirds of the world's supply and threatens to snatch an even
greater market share from American producers.
Sequoia Packing of
Coalinga, California—with the second largest fresh-garlic packing capacity in
the U.S.—provides an example of one peeling/packing plant that is successfully
fighting back by utilizing direct-drive, industrial air compressors throughout
their process to maximize output and avoid breakdowns.
"Compressors are
used extensively throughout our plant," says Tony Villalobos, operations manager
for Sequoia Packing. "We use the air for peeling garlic and discarding the
waste; in our optical sorters to keep out unwanted cloves; in the actuators of
our package sealer; and for the weight scales in our packing room."
"Up
until about four years ago we had older, chain drive air compressors that kept
breaking down and couldn't keep up with demand," continues Villalobos. "One
broke down within a year's time, and when a compressor goes down I am out of
business until the machine gets fixed. Since these models were too expensive to
repair, I went out and bought a new Sullivan-Palatek unit. It had a great
warranty, which impressed me. Once we used the first one, there was no doubt as
to where the second air compressor was coming from. We got the other
Sullivan-Palatek in 2003."
Sullivan-PalatekÒ, of Michigan City, Indiana,
manufacturers a line of direct-drive rotary-screw, industrial air compressor
systems that allow agricultural and food-processing industries to profit from
greater reliability and energy savings in their pressurized-air operations. The
increased reliability and output of this design stems from the use of larger
air-end assemblies, which results in slower turning rotors that yield extended
service life and higher pressure using lower horsepower. Extra efficiency
results from use of a direct-drive rotary screw that eliminates unnecessary
moving parts such as belts, gears and pulleys—thus reducing the parasitic losses
attributed to belts (4-8% loss) and gears (3-5%).
"We run these machines
pretty hard, and they stand up to it," comments Villalobos.
"There are no
breakdowns. That's the important thing. I'd have no problem going out and buying
another Sullivan-Palatek. In fact, right now I'm working on getting another one
because we're getting so big that I need more. These air compressor systems are
helping us to put China in its place."
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb256439.htm