CHICAGO (June 28, 5:05 p.m. EDT) — Auxiliary equipment maker Sterling Inc. introduced a new temperature-control unit, an expanded central granulator line and a newly designed gravimetric blender at a June 18 press conference at NPE 2006 in Chicago.
Mike Zvolanek, Sterling national sales manager, said the business is experiencing annual growth of more than 15 percent. He discussed product introductions:
* A high-temperature control unit for process cooling uses water instead of oil. A dual seal-less magnetic coupled-drive pumping system allows water with temperatures up to 320° F to process supply water with a gauge pressure of 24 pounds per square inch. A 1.5-square-foot shell and tube heat exchanger minimizes scale buildup in the molds. The unit measures 23 inches by 10 inches by 26 inches.
* A new midsized line of tangential granulators, the CGMB TF Series, minimizes part bouncing and eases material processing for large bulky parts. Two models have high throughputs normally requiring a more powerful central unit and a 40-degree angled in-feed that absorbs sound.
* Sterling added a smaller member to its SGBD Series of gravimetric blenders. The SGBD150 can process material at a rate of 10-150 pounds per hour and has three modes of recipe entry to meet a variety of blending needs. A Mitsubishi PLC-based controller is standard.
* Sterling demonstrated a state-of-the-art graphic granulator controller with an Allen-Bradley touch-screen interface. Reminder alarms for routine maintenance are pre-set, and other signals are explained with an intuitive help screen.
Zvolanek underscored the importance of Sterling's strategic material-separation partnership with Eriez Manufacturing Inc. of Erie, Pa. Sterling is distributing Eriez's PolyMag technology for magnetically separating mixed resins from multimaterial parts. A small amount of a magnetic additive was molded into one of the resins. Sterling sister company Cumberland Engineering Inc. is also marketing the PolyMag technology.
Now celebrating its 90th anniversary, Sterling of New Berlin, Wis., is an operation of Wood Dale, Ill.-based ACS Group. Harbor Group of St. Louis owns ACS. Tom Breslin, ACS president and chief executive officer, said ACS employs more than 650.