November 26, 2011 Conveying Solutions

Volume 14 | Issue 3

For more than 40 years, Mac Process has provided air filtration and pneumatic conveying solutions that maximize product flow rates and minim

Call it wisdom. Call it application knowledge. At Mac Process it’s all the same. Its experts have a comprehensive understanding of the manufacturing related to its industry: That is, they develop the right filtration and pneumatic conveying system that fits the specific need.

As Rob O’Conor, vice president of filtration, describes: “We pride ourselves on our application knowledge, and we make sure we understand not only our equipment but the customer’s process. The more we know about what a customer needs, the better we can tailor-fit a solution.”

This is an important element, as this company is an application-and solution-driven enterprise. While it provides its industry’s most perfect equipment, its application knowledge is its true competitive advantage. “That’s what we live and breathe, all of our people,” comments O’Conor. “As we evolve, we want to remain true to our corporate philosophy, which is to make great equipment and be the leading experts and knowledge resource for our customers.”

Purchased eight months ago by Schenck Process Group – a 150-year-old, world-famous company headquartered in Germany and the market leader in process solutions for customers’ weighing, feeding, screening and automation needs – Mac Process specializes in pneumatic conveyance (the transporting of dry material using air as the motivating force) and comprehensive air filtration systems.

In business for 40 years – and founded by Gary and Virginia McDaniel in Sabetha, Kan. – the company’s genesis coincided with early development of dust collection and clean air systems, in line with the Clean Air Act of 1970. The company primarily supplied dust collection equipment to the agricultural and grain industries. Since then, Mac Process has become a global leader in improving the efficiency and productivity of customers’ manufacturing processes. With full-service, design-build capabilities, and full-scale project management capabilities, Mac Process supplies markets that include food, pet food, chemical, petrochemical, plastics, ethanol, cement, building products, grain, agriculture and feed, wood, minerals and mining, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and coal fired power plants.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., with plants in Sabetha and Houston, the company employs more than 350 people at four US locations and is the largest US supplier of dust collection, pneumatic injection and pneumatic conveying expertise and equipment.

• Examples of the company’s ingenuity include:
• Plant controls systems upgrades;
• Plant dust control systems;
• Scaling systems for mixers;
• Hammermill airlift convey and dust collection systems;
• Grain unload storage and transfer to processing;
• Grain dust transfer systems;
• Pneumatic convey product recovery from dust filters and cyclones;
• Pellet mill cooler emission control systems;
• Minor and micro ingredient additive systems;
• Turn-key Project Management.

Mac Process has developed strong relationships with industry giants such as Kellogg’s, Kraft, General Mills, BASF, and Procter and Gamble, along with Dow and DuPont, to name a few. Mac Process’s filtration expertise comes into play in mining to satisfy environmental requirements for operations involving special minerals, copper, aluminum, and some precious metals. Over the last decade, Mac Process has also engaged more in the country’s burgeoning bio-fuel industry.

TESTING CAPABILITIES
To develop the systems necessary to handle the tough manufacturing and processing scenarios of its customers, Mac Process has built state-of-the-art test labs to fuel research and development efforts. These labs allow the company to analyze the properties of materials and compile valuable performance data on conveying, filtration, and process control systems to ensure optimum equipment performance. Material testing lets Mac Process determine the most efficient conveying or filtration technique and equipment configuration for each specific application.

As an example, for a large food customer that supplies coffee beans, Mac Process developed a conveyor system and filtration system that would not harm the beans as they were being processed. “Based on our material testing, we came up with the right conveying and filtration solution,” O’Conor says.

The company’s pneumatic conveying test centers are located in Houston and Kansas City, while its air filtration/dust collection test center is located in Sabetha.

PATENTED SOLUTIONS
In the last four decades, Mac Process has developed some unique and innovative equipment to help its customers get the job done. One recent development is called the SpaceSaver™, a low profile, compact design that addresses a need where high efficiency collection is required, yet a small footprint is necessary.

“There’s dust dispersion when you move product from one belt to another,” O’Conor explains. “We brought in customers and vendors and our engineers for a week in our facility and came up with this unique design.”

One of the SpaceSaver’s features is how the filters are accessed. The machine’s design and construction eliminates the need to adhere to confined space regulations because the operator can get to the collector without entering the collector. With more cloth area, the filter allows more air flow and ventilates a much larger area.

In addition, the SpaceSaver is up to 75 percent smaller than traditional dust collectors. It also offers leak-free cartridges that are the longest lasting of any dust collector on the market.

Mac Process also produces the Medium-Pressure Controlled-Cleaning Dust Filter, the MCF PowerSaver™, which it describes as “the most efficient and versatile bag filter made.” Its capacities range to over 250,000 CFM with more than two dozen filter media options available. A feature of the MCF PowerSaver is the patented Controlled-Fire-Cleaning System, designed for operating temperatures up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. It requires less horsepower than any other bag filter in the industry. When the cleaning arm and bag segments are correctly aligned, air nozzles fire directly into the bags. This means no wasted air and, in turn, translates into a 50 percent or more savings on energy costs.

NEXT PHASE OF PROFITABLE GROWTH
Mac Process’s parent company, Schenk Process, meets customers’ needs across the world with facilities in China, South America, Australia and Europe. “We’ll always want to grow the business, but we will grow it intelligently and make sure to cultivate our application knowledge. Being a part of the Schenck Process Group not only broadens what we can provide but allows us to support customers much easier,” says O’Conor.

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