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The Site Supervisor at CEMEX Widnes readymix plant was concerned with the build up in their steel discharge cone underneath the pan mixer, which was a major bottleneck interfering with the operation of the plant.
45 minutes manual cleaning of the chute was required each day using a pneumatic hammer to knock the hardened concrete off the cone, creating a potential hand-arm vibration risk to operatives.
Despite daily cleaning, the build up in inaccessible areas worsened over time, requiring intermittent hire of subcontractors to perform a thorough clean. This also required scaffolding hire to gain access and created a working at height risk.
If blocked, the mixer discharge chute becomes a bottleneck, jeopardising production and impacting on mixer operation.
Typical example of build up in steel discharge chute
A ConeFlex abrasion-resistant chute liner was installed to line the steel discharge chute. The low friction ‘non-stick’ properties of the dual layer Hawiflex polyurethane improved concrete discharge and minimised build up, significantly reducing the cleaning time from four hours a week to just one and eradicating the risk of blockages at the mixer gate.
ConeFlex installation at CEMEX Widnes
The longevity of the ConeFlex is highly impressive. After 10 years, the ConeFlex is still operational and performing well. Furthermore, the light-weight chute liner was only rotated in the past couple of years, which will further extend its service life.
“I’m really pleased with the installation. The 75% reduction in cleaning time needed to maintain the discharge chute has been valuable and the productivity of our plant has increased.”
– Paul Campbell, Site Supervisor at CEMEX Widnes.
ConeFlex chute liner solution with dual layer wear indicator
In brief
• Leading readymix producer, CEMEX, spent 4 hours a week cleaning steel discharge chute under mixer
• Risk of build up reaching gate mechanism under the mixer and interfering with the operation of the door
• Installed ConeFlex to line the steel discharge chute
How we made it better
Productivity – Less downtime cleaning the discharge chute resulting in increased plant efficiency
Safety – Hand-arm vibration risk reduction from manual cleaning and reduced work at height
Quality – Consistent loading of truckmixers
6.5 YEARS TROUBLE-FREE SERVICE LIFE
3 MONTHS
31 MONTHS AND STILL OPERATIONAL
THAN THE ORIGINALS