When it comes to tea, Tetley is the nations favourite cuppa. Their entire range of teas are blended and packed at their impressive factory at Eaglescliffe, Teesside, using leaf material originating from places as far apart as Indonesia, India and Kenya. Much of the tea at Eaglescliffe is prepared in a blending system supplied by Spiroflow back in 2004. Their current output is running at 50 million tea bags per week!

During early 2006, it was decided to improve the efficiency of the Decaffeinated Tea handling, by taking delivery of teas in 500 kg big bags (FIBCs) instead of 25kg sacks, Spiroflow were asked to propose a big bag discharging solution. For reasons of transportation efficiency, the tea bearing big bags are delivered to Eaglescliffe stacked 2 high on a single pallet. As a result, even though forklift trucks are used to deliver the loaded pallets to the discharger, Spiroflow proposed, and ultimately supplied, one of their Type 6 Big Bag Dischargers - which comes complete with its own bag hoisting system. Once the loops of the upper bag are attached to a lifting frame, the bag can be hoisted up, traversed across and then lowered in to position on the discharger leaving the forklift to undertake other duties in the meantime. Similarly, when the first bag is empty and returned to the ground, the lower bag can be installed into the discharger. Some 11 bags are emptied a day in a factory that operates 24/5.

Teas are currently discharged into the rigid containers into which the 25 kg bags used to be tipped. These containers are specifically designed to act as tumble blenders and to dock with the Decaffeinated Tea packing lines. The Spiroflow Discharger incorporates a pneumatically operated, telescopic docking connection, which makes a dust-tight seal with the inlet of the container below. An easily removable magnet is fitted above the docking system to trap any tramp metal that may have become mingled with the tea at the point of origin.

To ensure the dust-free transfer of tea, the T6 Discharger is furnished with a containment cabinet in which the neck of the big bag can be untied once it has been strangled by a pair of pneumatically powered Vee shaped closure bars. With the interlocked dust cabinet access door closed, the Vee closure bars can be opened to allow flow to commence from the bag, through the central feed spout of the docking connection into the container below. There is an annular ring disposed concentrically around this feed spout to facilitate the escape of air displaced from the container as it fills with tea. Both the dust cabinet and the docking device are connected to the factorys central dust collection system. This means no escape of dust into the atmosphere during filling of the rigid containers nor each time the cabinet doors are opened to untie or retie the neck of a big bag.

The total height of the discharger is 6.4 metres to accommodate the 2.5 metre containers, the telescopic docking system, the big bag and the lifting hoist. As Roy Goodlad, a Project Manager at Tetley, confirms, "We did go out for quotes from others but, based on the competitive price offered by Spiroflow and the excellent performance of the tea blending system supplied previously, we decided to place the order for the big bag discharger with them. It has been installed since April 2006 and we have no complaints about its performance either". The installation and commissioning was carried out by engineers from Spiroflow.

To learn more about Spiroflow, Big Bag Dischargers and their ranges of Flexible Screw Conveyors, Aero-Mechanical Conveyors, Pneumatic Conveyors, Vacuum Conveyors and also about their Big Bag Fillers too, visit their web site at www.spiroflow.com or call them on +44 (0)1200 422525 to discuss your specific requirements.

For more information contact Spiroflow Ltd, Clitheroe, Lancs.

Tel. +44 (0)1200 422525 Fax: 01200 429165

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Web: www.spiroflow.com

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