Tara Hamid

A lubricant for all seasons

Australian company Candan Industries first introduced its popular Inox MX3 product in 1989 as an anti-corrosion and anti-moisture lubricant. The product’s popularity has grown over the years as both industrial and domestic consumers keep finding new applications for it in their everyday maintenance tasks. Inox MX3FG, a low-odour equivalent of the original Inox MX3 was introduced in 2008 to fill a gap for odour-free, food-grade lubricants. Today, the the MX3FG has found widespread popularity in par with the original MX3 product. Read More

Cultivating success: An Australian business’ journey to growth

“Maintaining hay balers is often very challenging because they are used in a very dusty environment; so you need chains that are good quality and you can get good usage out of them,” says Nathan Duffield, general manager and co-owner of ND & JA Giles in South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula. For the small family business that supports the local agricultural industry with mechanical repair services, Diamond chains sourced through CBC have proven to be even more reliable than the genuine chains on the machines. “Often times when a hay baler comes in for servicing and if the chain needs replacing, we use the corresponding Diamond chains to replace the old chains,” says Duffield. Read More

Food production unchained: Considering the viability of belt drives

When asked ‘Why aren’t more food and beverage manufacturers considering the viability of belt drives versus chain drives in their processes?’ CBC sales representative Steve Cutajar says he thinks they absolutely should. “The synchronous belt technology is a relatively new technology whereas roller chains have been used across the industry for many years. That’s why some manufacturers are still hesitant to try belt drives in their operations. But synchronous belt technology has come a long way in recent years and today, belts can easily replace chains in many power transmission applications.” Steve uses an example from one of CBC’s clients, a major food processing company in Adelaide that produces grain by-products for export. Using the Timken Panther XT synchronous belts to replace chain drives, the company generated cost savings of $26,000 over six years. Read More

Pre-packaged smarts: How to get your factory Industry 4.0 ready with a simple, modular solution

Dave Delany from ifm Australia likens the process of digitalising a factory to that of a kitchen pantry. The pantry may be filled with ingredients, but without a recipe or cooking experience, how do you go about prepping a meal? Where do you start? According to Delany, you don’t need to have the equivalent of a chef’s expertise in IT to get your business Industry 4.0 ready. Read more on how ifm has created a simple platform and ready-to-go software package that will protect what’s important to you, and allow you to start small, and scale fast. Read More

Making hay bales look sexy

Schutz Industries, a company based in Eudanda township in South Australia, has been a market leader in manufacturing complete hay press plant lines for the past 20 years. With customers all across Australia and a booming hay export industry, Schutz Industries’ purchasing officer Mark Waldhuter says business has never been better. Read More

BSC helps food manufacturer out of a ‘sticky’ situation

A major food manufacturer in Melbourne had to frequently replace bearings in their filling machine which injects sticky breakfast product into jars. High exposure to moisture and detergents to clean the machine took its toll on the bearings, which necessitated bearing replacements every few months. When BSC sales specialist Jamie Stonehouse learned about the problem, he recommended replacing the standard ball bearings with NSK’s Molded-Oil deep groove ball bearings to extend the machine’s service life. Read More

Industrial crimped hose assembly safety best practices for the food industry

Neglected hose assemblies can pose serious risks to food and beverage plants. Unfortunately, they are overlooked too often. Steve Glatz, sales and marketing manager at Dixon Australia, says premature failures of hose assemblies can arise from a host of different reasons. “Improper application is the most common cause of failure. The maximum operating pressure of the hose, the recommended temperature and the fluid compatibility of the
hose are all factors that should be considered.” Read More

Gates belt puts biscuits on a sweet ride

Frequent failure of a roller chain at a major biscuit manufacturing plant in South Australia was causing significant delays in production. The chain had broken eight times over a span of 15 months and every time the chain broke, the line had to be stopped completely to replace the chain. BSC recommended changing the existing triplex chains with Gates Poly Chain GT Carbon timing belts, which helped resolve the issue. Read More

Safety in the can

The CRC GREENLIGHT programme is designed to make compliance and auditing simple for food manufacturers – and  that is certainly the case with a cannery on the outskirts of Adelaide in South Australia. BSC Wingfield Sales Representative Robert Harris says because auditors are familiar with the programme, the cannery has found it much easier and faster to manage its auditing process. Read More

How to choose and use threadlockers for farm equipment

LOCTITE anaerobic adhesives have become synonymous with agricultural equipment assembly and maintenance. BSC Product Manager for Adhesives & Sealants, Michael Rowe, explains how LOCTITE threadlockers should be used in the field to provide maximum reliability of locking components into place. “Thermal cycling is as big a problem for fasteners as vibration from the actual machine use is. Generally, agricultural equipment is used outdoors and parked or stored outdoors, so it is exposed to all the elements – heat, morning frosts, rain and so on,” explains Michael. Read More

Safe sealing solutions for the food industry

When a major food manufacturer experienced leakage from four-pin mixers keeping margarine under high pressure rotation, the mechanical seals were found to be the source of the problem. Seal Innovations, part of the Industrial Solutions Australia group of businesses (namely CBC and BSC) took up the challenge of repairing, testing and re-assembling the mixers within a week to get the plant up and running. Read More

Bakery relationship on the rise

As the Paul Kelly song goes, from little things big things grow – and this perfectly describes the relationship that has formed between a large bakery operation and the CBC Braeside branch in southeast Melbourne.  Recently, the bakery undertook a maintenance programme, for which they required the Rexnord Marbett conveyor bearings. CBC State Sales Manager, Leon Stefanec says these bearings are designed to withstand washdowns – which is necessary in any food manufacturing operation.
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Keeping Costa mushrooms cool

Costa, a leading Australian mushroom grower and packer, were able to detect  reliability issues in some of the fans that help regulate ventilation for their facility in South Australia. Had the issue not been detected early through vibration analysis, it could have led to more bearing failures. BSC Engineering Solutions Manager Mark Slaughter says the issue of electrical fluting is an increasing cause for bearing failures in VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) driven machines. Read More

CxO Panel Discussion: How the New Norm is Impacting the Food & Beverage Factory of the Future

Food and Beverage manufacturers are constantly challenged with producing consistent quality products to meet consumer tastes and demands. The global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many food & beverage companies, particularly around meeting step-change consumer demand, ensuring employee safety and keeping essential manufacturing operations running during these unprecedented challenges. This panel will discuss how digital technologies are being leveraged to assist in these challenges and how they can be strategically adopted to add value and solve problems moving into the future. Watch the recorded panel discussion here. Read More

Why HPC v-belts are ideal for the F&B industry and how to install them

High Performance Composite (HPC) PowerTwist v-belts by Fenner Drives incorporate custome composite materials that provide them with better power ratings under harsh industrial conditions. According to Steve Hittmann, CBC’s National Product Manager for Mechanical Drivesystems and Belt Drives, these belts can last up to 15 times longer than conventional rubber v-belts in extreme temperatures and heavy washdown applications. Read More

Sugar mills run sweet

When a major sugar mill in Queensland was forced to stop production due to a failed planetary gear unit in their mud filter, the CBC Townsville branch offered a Bonfiglioli 300 series planetary gear unit as a replacement. CBC Power Transmission Application Engineer Brad Shepherd explains why the Bonfiglioli unit’s robust design was critical to ensuring the mill resumed production with minimal delays. Read More

Baker Farm truck fleet runs smooth with Alemlube

As a third-generation family business, Baker Farm in the Riverina region of New South Wales is not just a farm producer. The business, which comprises Baker Farm, Baker Grain and Baker Transport, also offers contract farming services, feedlot facilities, freight, and storage of grain, hay and machinery. To help the farm managers maintain all of their equipment in perfect condition with minimal manual work, BSC’s Wodonga branch recommended installing Alemlube Automated Lubrication Systems on the farm’s  truck fleet to automate the greasing, which helps the farm save significantly on maintenance time and costs. Read More