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Metal Detectable (MD) Volta belts for the food industry

Metal Detectable (MD) Volta belts for the food industry

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As you are aware, consumer safety has become a prominent issue in recent years due to heightened public awareness, increasingly stringent legal regulations, and the challenging responsibility of managing an automated food processing line. The ever-changing demands and pressures for superior food safety are driven internally by managers along with external pressures from consumers, industry regulators, and global associations.

Often called “farm to fork”, the path from raw food to a finished and packaged product is one that has hazardous contact points. Before consumers have their food on their tables, that food has come into contact with harvesting equipment, slaughterhouses, freezers, cold storages, a wide array of transportation means, and various processing machinery. Although most contaminants (much of which is ferrous) are removed in early processing stages, trace contaminants can still remain in foods. Thus, metal detection is often used as a last line of defense in most processing facilities.

Food routinely makes contact with conveyor belting and with the widespread use of fragile modular belting, concerns arise over plastic contaminants being deposited into the flow of food due to wear and tear. Volta firmly stands behind the safety and stability of all Volta food grade belts as a solution for alternative inferior belting types. Our ultimate goal is to eliminate any concerns and fears held by processors and consumers regarding food safety.

Metal detectable plastic is an important necessity to all types of food processors. Many would never consider allowing pens, electric ties, and plasters within the hygienic zone if they were not detectable.

While Volta Belting’s materials are resistant to cuts and breakage, food grade metal detectable belts have been developed to meet high demands and to give quality assurance and production teams the confidence in knowing that their products will meet the strictest food safety requirements.

Detectability is determined by contaminant type, size, the size of the detector’s aperture, the orientation of the detectable material, and the frequency at which the detector is calibrated. Small particles may pass undetected if the food product has a similar phase angle to the contaminant (dry and moist products produce different signals), or if the particle passes through the center of a sufficiently large detector.

 

 

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BMA Belting has gone green!

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BMA_waterReduced Water Usage

A huge problem with our industry is the amount of water wasted on vulcanising a belt. Did you know that each time a belt is vulcanised in a joining press, it can use anywhere between 20-80 litres of water to cool the press down depending on the size? BMA Beltinga calculated that over thousands of vulcanised belts produced, the amount of water wasted would calculate over 750,000 litres per year.

 

In order to stop wasting water, Brendma has taken the following measures:

  • $250,000 investment in new air cooled vulcanisers, eliminating the need to use water to cool down belts joined up to 1,200mm wide
  • For anything over 1,200mm wide which still requires water cooled technology, a 200 litre water tank has been set up to pump the used water back into the tank and cool it down to 50°C so it can be reused

This has resulted in a more environmentally friendly practice, especially in our head office where each belt vulcaniser is connected to the solar panel renewable energy network.

BMA_EnergyRenewable Energy

The Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme set by the Australian government is designed to ensure that 20% of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by the year 2020.

BMA Belting has decided to become a part of this target in an effort to combat climate change. Our head factory in Auburn NSW recently invested in producing renewable energy for all of its equipment by installing 106 solar panels, connected to a 25kw inverter. This German made design was installed in late 2014, and will help the head office and factory generate off grid, clean renewable energy for at least the next 30 years.

BMA_RecyclingRecycling Program

All of BMA Belting’s factories have implemented a recycling program, which has helped convert 65% of usual waste into reusable material. Materials that are recycled include paper and cardboard, plastic film and wrap, polystyrene, timber and metals. This saves on average over 560 cubic metres of waste going into landfill.

BMA Belting greatly supports the worldwide movement in changing to renewable energy and implementing environmentally friendly solutions.

For more information please visit:
http://www.go100percent.org/
http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/renewable-energy

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BMA Belting & Steggles

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BMA Belting was recently innvolved with the recent Evisceration line project at Baiada Steggles.

The Mareeba project included the fabrication of a five-metre cleated conveyor built by us with stainless steel chutes, an inspection platform and rerouting approximately 100 metres of four-inch vacuum line in the ceiling space of the plant.

Read about BMA Belting involvement in the recent Evisceration line project at Baiada Steggles here:

http://www.foodprocessing.com.au/articles/46917-Evisceration-line-revamps-at-Baiada-Steggles

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All new website online!

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Welcome to our brand new website!

We have spent countless hours creating this new website to further showcase our amazing high quality products and services.

Head over to our extensive product pages to find out more about the fantastic belting solutions BMA Belting can provide.

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