Portable hopper saves the day
To produce a new product, a company uses a loss-in-weight portable batch hopper to move material from a bulk silo to a mixer instead of making a major infrastructure investment.
Eagle Building Materials, Fresno, Calif., produces various building material products such as stucco and plaster and sells drywall, lath, and plaster-related products for use in residential and commercial construction projects. A few years ago, the company decided to make a new exterior plaster product at its facility using its own proprietary formula. The company already had the necessary mixers and bagging equipment but needed to choose whether to receive one of the product's major ingredients in bags or in bulk. Buying in bulk would be more economical, but to do this the company would have to make a large investment in a new storage silo, pneumatic conveying system, and other costly infrastructure. Company president Tom Graves was reluctant to make this kind of investment since he didn’t know how well the new product would do in the market. The company needed to find a less-costly and less-permanent way to receive and handle the material in bulk.