At a concrete plant, machines and systems have
to be available for use at all times – and Holcim
Kies und Beton in Glattbrugg and Birsfelden is
no exception. The company has been relying on
the globally renowned and reliable simalube®
lubricator for some time now in its conveyor systems
and mixing plants. Remo Lippi, Head of Maintenance
and Repairs at the Holcim plant in Birsfelden, is fully
satisfied with the benefits of the automatic single
point lubrication offered by the product.
“Our machine operators and shift workers are under
enormous time and productivity pressure,” Lippi says.
“If our conveyor systems were to fail due to poorly
lubricated pedestal bearings, it would cost us a great
deal of money.” That is why Holcim Kies und Beton AG
has been using the practical simalube lubricators
for some months now. They reliably lubricate all the
lubrication points on numerous machines, including
crushers, conveyor belts, deflection rollers, drive
belts, pumps, etc.
One of the main components requiring regular
maintenance in a concrete plant are pedestal
bearings. The extremely fine dust particles generated
expose these bearings in particular to very high
levels of contamination. Until recently, Holcim had
to lubricate these bearings manually on a daily basis
– a very time-consuming, costly process. Thanks to
the use of simalube, Holcim employees no longer
have to perform this routine maintenance work. The
time spent lubricating machine components has
been reduced significantly. This saves an enormous
amount of money and frees up employees to get on
with more profitable tasks in the value creation chain.
“The time saving alone was an important reason
why we switched to single point lubrication by
simalube,” Mr Lippi adds. He was also impressed
by other key advantages the product offers, including
the fact that it is universally applicable, good value
for money and easy to use.
Holcim expressly undertakes to develop its products
in a sustainable way. The refillable simalube
dispenser enables the company to do its bit for
the environment. The dispenser contains no toxic
substances and all of its components can be recycled.
The simalube lubricators have also been tested
according to the latest product safety standards. They
are authorised for use in potentially explosive environments
– for instance in the vicinity of flammable
gases and dusts – and in the mining industry. In a
concrete plant, these safety aspects play a particularly
important role.
Thanks to the flexible installation options it offers,
simalube is used in numerous machines and
systems at the Holcim plant.
In the concrete industry, simalube lubricators are
typically deployed in the following areas:
- Grinding mills (ball and tube mills)
- Conveyor systems and mixing plants
- Conveyor belts and rollers
- Water and bilge pumps
- Drive belts