Reduce Grain Changeover Times
If you’re waiting for a sign, here it is. Changeover doesn’t have to take so long!
Using SMART Conveyors™ (our drag chain conveyors) and BE&E equipment can reduce changeover times and increase throughput.
Where we can help is the speed at which we can move the material is much faster than gravity-fed, but also, using our slide gates, there are no articulating augers or conveyors to deal with.
SMART Conveyors™
SMART Conveyors™ allow slide gates to be opened or closed within the conveyor between different loads. This eliminates the need for an auger or conveyor to swing to the next silo to start delivering a new commodity.
During the changeover, let’s say they are running corn at the time, and a farmer brings in a load of soybeans. He must still dump his product, so the elevator needs to run all the corn currently trying to find its way up to the silo and must be completely cleaned out first.
This takes a while, but it must be done, so you don’t mix commodities. Now imagine all you need to do for the changeover is open or close a gate on the distribution conveyor. This is the reality with SMART Conveyors™.
This also eliminates the need for a silo of “waste material.” This silo receives mixed material, which is then sold as low-cost feed, to keep processes moving. If mixing materials to keep processes moving was unnecessary because you could rely on your equipment to do the job, these mixed commodities would no longer cut into profits.
Inline Receiving Bins
Another way that BE&E can reduce changeover times is the speed at which we can move the material. These trucks must often wait on gravity to move the commodities through the pit before they can unload. With inline receiving bins, the material is pushed through the bin and to the conveyor much faster.
How many trucks could come through with our inline receiving bins? Speaking conservatively, if the typical 10-hour workday sees 200 trucks with two gravity-fed bins, switching to inline receiving bins from BE&E could put that number at closer to 350 trucks.
Keep production lines moving consistently by reducing changeover time and increasing throughputs with BE&E. Contact us today for more information!
