Kingfisher Industrial supply wear-protection to leading concrete manufacturer

A UK leading manufacturer of innovative concrete products is one of many manufacturers to have benefitted from utilising Kingfisher’s wear-resistant lining systems.

In 2009 the manufacturing plant had experienced constant operational problems with its wet pan mixers due to constant wear issues. A key piece of equipment used to formulate material together before it is formed into products and supplied into the construction sector, the mixer forms part of the crucial path within the process and needs to be available 24/7.

The cast liners used to protect the internal surfaces were drastically deteriorating over time, thus causing material to bridge and build-up. On-site engineers had to manually hammer out the material that had cornered up around the paddles and engineers were finding it difficult to keep the pan mixers clear of material.

Workers had to access the mixers to break and clean out excess material using mechanical tools. In some instances the structure of the mixers had worn through and they had to repair the inner perforated parts of the mixers by re-welding onto the structure. These activities were not a suitable long-term solution and plant engineers required a solution which would help maintain a clear process and prevent the plant from experiencing ad-hoc production downtime.

Following an assessment by Kingfisher’s site engineers, it was advised the mixers should be relined using Kingfisher’s K-ALOX wear-resistant system. This system comprises of beneficial characteristics such as protection against high-rotational induced abrasion surfaces which are subject to high levels of deterioration, incorporating a ‘glass-like’ surface that eliminates product build-up.

A recent site visit was made to the plant to assess the pan mixers and the K-ALOX interior lining system has now outperformed the previous system by a factor of three to one. The K-ALOX wear-protection system installed both on the side walls and base sections is still in good condition and will continue to perform for many more operational cycles.

Kingfisher will be exhibiting a range of products suitable for the mortar and concrete industry for the first time at this year’s UK Concrete Show being held on 15-16 February at the NEC, Birmingham. Visit them in hall 5, stand number C40.