Modified big bag sieve station helps sports nutrition manufacturer up-scale production whilst improving operator health and safety

Sports nutrition has been one of the fastest-growing industries in recent years, with more and more people investing in their health and wellbeing. When a health supplements producer was looking to expand its production capacity to meet increased demand, the company turned to the global leader in sieving and separation technology, Russell Finex, for a solution.

The sieving solution needed to be flexible enough to be used at two separate stages of the production process – when raw ingredients enter the factory and before the final product is packaged. For both stages, the company required a sieve with a big bag tipping platform that was capable of handling bulk bags of material.

After consultation with Russell Finex engineers, a bespoke version of the Russell Compact 3in1 Sieve™ was supplied, a safety sieve with sack tipping platform specifically designed to check screen hand-fed ingredients through safe low-level bag emptying.

The Russell Compact 3in1 Sieve™, usually supplied with a 600mm diameter sieve unit, was upscaled to 900mm in size to meet the required capacity. The larger surface area of the sieve provides efficient screening at the requisite throughput of 2 tonnes/h, whilst the larger motor is powerful enough to ensure the fatty and sticky whey powders do not block the mesh, by transferring stronger vibrations to the mesh area.

Operator health and safety was a key concern for the company. With the larger bag tipping platform, operators can safely tip the 25kg bags of ingredients, meeting the Health and Safety Executive guidance on manual handling tasks. In addition, its integrated dust hood allows for connection to a dust extraction system, protecting operators from potentially harmful fine dusts during sack tipping.

A further key requirement for the sieving solution was ease of use and maintenance. With a quick-release clamping system, the Russell Compact 3in1 Sieve™ allows for tool-free access to the mesh ensuring minimal downtime for cleaning and inspection. In addition, instead of a standard bag tip platform that is bolted directly on top of the sieve, the platform was modified for tool-free disassembly.  The operator can then safely lift the whole tipping platform clear of the sieve unit to access the mesh.

The customized bag dump station fulfilled all of the company’s requirements, resulting in an order of 13 machines for use at facilities across the world. By checking the quality of both the incoming raw ingredients and the final product before packaging, the customer can ensure that their product is of the highest quality and their reputation is safeguarded.

Russell Finex has more than 80 years of experience in providing high-quality customized sieving solutions for the food industry. The company works closely with manufacturers in the industry to make sure their rapidly evolving needs are met.