From small fans for fresh air, to giant industrial apparatuses used in, for example, the potato industry. Almeco, from the Belgian city of Mouscron, in addition to manufacturing fans, also builds drying systems. These can, just like the fans, be found in the food processing industry.
Johan Wyckaert of Almeco in front of one of the drying machines.
The fans can be of such large formats that they have to be moved with special transportation.
"We try to keep evolving", says Almeco's Director of Operations, Johan Wyckaert. "Recently, we brought a new axial fan onto the market, our type ADB - which has it's motor completely outside of its airflow. This prevents grease from building up on the motor. This is good for, for example, a fan that is used in an oven, or as an extractor for an industrial frying pan. In this case, the motor can overheat and cause a fire. With our new RVS model, this can no longer happen."
The ADB fan (axial bifurcated).
The fans and their parts come in various shapes and sizes.
Almeco has a total of 4 000 m2 of space in Mouscron.
Fresh air
Almeco's fans are used, primarily, in factories for fresh air. The machines can also be used by growers. "Our fans are also commonly found in potato storage facilities", says Johan. "They can also be used for fruit and vegetables, but we have a large scale client base in the potato world. This does not mean our products are not suitable for fruit and vegetables. Not only can they be placed in a factory or storage room, but our fans can also be adapted by our machine builders. Our products can be used in all sorts of ways. When adjusted, our fans can even work in cold areas of about -20 degrees."
The fans are sometimes so large that they have to be specially transported.
From small to big
In Mouscron, the fans get assembled in various sizes. Not all the parts are manufactured in this factory. "We make fans from 300 mm to 2 m in size", says the Director. "Sometimes we design a fan that is manufactured entirely at a subcontractor. Whether we make it ourselves or not, we always test the machines in our factory, to ensure that they perform as expected."
Drying system
The company is active in the dried products sector of the food industry. From cans to packets, and bottles to jars. "The client decides how dry they want their product", the man behind Almeco explains. "After the sterilisation or pasteurisation process, the products are often damp. We remove the surface moisture with a strong jet of air. This usually lasts between one and three seconds. We are able to get the products 99% dry."
Moisture is blasted away by the Almeco drying system.
The products make their way to the drying area via a conveyor belt.
The manner is which a product is dried, gets tested extensively by Almeco's people in the factory. "We often get packaging from a manufacturer. Then we can see what best way of drying to apply", says Johan. "In addition to the drying method, noise, handling and automation are also important parameters in developing a project."
A glimpse into Almeco's test area.
For more information:
Almeco
51 Royenne Street
B-7700 Mouscron (Belgium)
T +32 (0)56 85.40.80
F +32 (0)56 85.40.81