This also applies to blasting equipment, where over time operational costs begin to mount: higher maintenance costs and increased consumption of abrasive and energy. However, efficient blasting does not always require a completely new blasting cabinet with turbines. With Rösler's TuneUp Retrofit service, one can significantly reduce costs at existing facilities. This was also proven at Buijsse International where the modernized blasting unit not only requires less maintenance and consumes less abrasive, but also has a higher capacity and is more widely deployable.
Blasting is craftsmanship and at Buijsse International in Lokeren they have made it their specialty. "We have grown into one of the references in industrial surface treatment, active in the most diverse industrial market segments, such as machine building, food industry, metal construction, shipbuilding ... Our production sites in Lokeren and Temse, accounting for an area of 20,000 m², are specially equipped to blast, metallize, aluminize and spray large and/or heavy constructions," says managing director Anthony Geerinckx. "The showpiece is the automatic blast cabinet with sixteen turbines that throw 3,800 kg of abrasive per minute at a speed of 80 m/s. Blasting can be done with steel grit and corundum (for stainless steel). This installation can automatically blast elements up to 30 m long with a diameter of 3 by 3 m and blasts 30 tons of steel per shift. It is used daily for blasting large objects such as fuel tanks, steel structures, profiles, pipes, spools and many other objects."
The management of Buijsse International took a thorough look at all business processes over the last two years and identified the challenges for daily operations. One of the biggest challenges was increased utilization and profitability of the blasting plant. The throwing wheels may not have been broken, but they were causing higher maintenance costs and a lot of downtime due to wear and tear. Because those throwing wheels and other settings were not optimally adjusted and managed, a lot of time and money was lost in maintenance. "In their search for the right partner to support them in optimizing the installation and its operation, they came to Rösler Benelux. After an inventory period, our team drew up a plan together with the customer to tackle the existing blasting installation and make it maintenance-friendly," explains Tom Meulemans, process & application engineer at Rösler. "In doing so, several goals were put forward, such as an audit of the blasting process and increasing know-how, as well as supporting the technicians and operators. In addition, knowledge and insight about the blasting process had to be gathered in order to make the plant more efficient and profitable." First, the mechanical problems were addressed as a basis for getting the process on a sound footing. On the advice of Rösler's specialists, Buijsse's management decided to renew a number of crucial components from the existing blasting plant. The old turbine wheels were replaced by Rösler's Rutten turbines, for many years the reference when it comes to turbine wheels. Also in the area of abrasive recycling improvements were made with the aim of increasing quality. Furthermore, the air management within the machine was addressed in order to make the process as reliable as possible.
At Buijsse, they are impressed with the result of this TuneUp Retrofit support. "Thanks to the know-how and support of the Rösler specialists, we were able to increase our knowledge of the blasting process. Thus, we can use our cabin more broadly and the blasting capacity was increased, while abrasive consumption and maintenance costs are lower," concludes Geerinckx. "We are very satisfied with the cooperation with Rösler Benelux. From the very first discussions it was clear that they have enormous knowledge in the field of blasting processes. We also knew in advance what their approach and the associated investment would be. We will continue our cooperation in the future to make the blasting installation even more efficient and profitable."
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