Flexco recently announced that it is now manufacturing its urethane belt cleaner blades at its Grand Rapids, Michigan location. The investment in the equipment and resources gives Flexco the opportunity to generate new, innovative products.
"We spent more than a year testing over 100 formulations in the laboratory, in the field, and internally to ensure that we put the highest quality urethane blades on the market," Ryan Grevenstuk, senior product manager at Flexco, said. "We continue to invest to ensure we’re creating products that withstand the most demanding applications."
In-house and in-field tests were conducted by Flexco specialists until it was determined that the blades met Flexco’s quality standards. The success of the blades has encouraged Flexco to continue innovating with other custom urethane products.
"These capabilities will speed the time it takes to bring innovative products to market in terms of development and delivery, continually enhancing the quality we put into every product we make," Grevenstuk said. "We continue to make investments in our manufacturing capabilities in the US and around the world to ensure our products can be delivered to local markets in a timely and consistent manner."
Flexco also recently invested in two new side-by-side incline conveyors to expand the testing and R&D capabilities on heavy-duty Flexco products at the Michigan location.
This latest addition to the internal test units Flexco has at its disposal features a 36in wide belt and a 750ft-per-minute top speed, along with an integrated belt scale and a tonnes-per-hour meter. The new conveyor loop gives Flexco engineers the chance to conduct internal testing that mirrors realistic conditions in the field and augments current laboratory, field, and other conveyor testing performed on Flexco products.
"This new conveyor system is allowing our engineers to test the performance of our products in a realistic mining environment. The control we have over the test variables with this equipment allows us to investigate and understand the science behind our products, and we then use that knowledge to enhance our products’ performance and value to our customers." Carl Hessler, PE, BCP engineering manager for Flexco, said.