Allied Grain Systems installed an innovative conveying solution to slash Fellows Bulk Transport’s labour hours and costs.
For more than 20 years, Paul Fellows has operated the family-owned Fellows Bulk Transport, growing the business from a single vehicle to a fleet of 13 trucks.
The company transports more than 100,000 tonnes of bulk material each year, including grain, canola meal, rice and other agricultural products, and has three sites in the Murray and Riverina regions to offer flexible grain storage.
Its largest site, located in Hay, NSW, has 19 storage vessels to allow multiple grades of wheat, barley, faba beans and other commodities to be stored.
Fellows says ensuring the company has the best equipment available is key to providing the best possible service and customer experience.
“Offering a quality service is the most important part of our business, and to do that, we needed to upgrade our storage infrastructure,” he says.
“At our Hay site, each silo had to be filled individually on both sides, which was very labour intensive. We wanted to improve our productivity and cut down on labour costs to get a more efficient tonnes-per-hour rate.”
To remedy this, Fellows reached out to Allied Grain Systems which visited the site to find a solution.
Allied Grain Systems’ engineers concluded the best way forward for Fellows would be to install a Hutchinson double-run grain pump, one of the first they had installed in Australia.
A pit hopper allows trucks to easily drive and unload their cargo which is then moved by ultra-high molecular weight paddles designed to keep grain flowing gently and evenly from the inlet to the discharge source.
The paddles are placed around every 30 centimetres and are notched to go around corners, replacing traditional augur flighting to help reduce the amount of grain damage compared with conventional conveying systems. A closed-loop design provides recirculation capabilities and the ability to unload one or more bins at the same time into the loop.
Allied Grain Systems completed the installation in two stages. The first was a three-week job that involved the construction of the 25.4-centimetre double-run grain pump over four 1500 tonne and two 1200 silos, giving Fellows an intake capacity of 145 tonnes per hour.
The grain pump was fed with a 33 centimetre by 233.7-centimetre Hutchinson swing-a-way mobile auger, which can service all six silos from just one location, removing the costly set up times of using a swing-a-way auger for each individual silo.
Stage two involved the installation of a 25.4-centimetre vertical grain pump and driveover hopper to feed the existing horizontal pump.
Traditionally, there would have been an expensive four-legged tower with caged rung ladder access to support the grain pump. However, Ken Jenner, Allied Grain Systems’ Head of Engineering, designed a new structural system to cut down on construction costs.
Instead, the system only consists of two support channels, using the silo’s spiral stair for access to reduce costs and provide better access to all the conveyor drives for maintenance.
Jenner says the new grain pump can ascend vertically, avoiding the need for a bucket elbow and providing a cost saving in comparison to a bucket elevator in a tower.
“Longevity is one of the main benefits of the double-run grain pump. Compared with conventional screw conveyors, they can be run over longer distances and span from silo to silo,” he explains. “They tend to be more efficient and can fit more grain into the horizontal pipe.”
The upgrade to Fellows Bulk Transport’s Hay site was finished on time and on budget. Close communication was key throughout the entire installation process, with Allied Grain Systems sharing preliminary drawings and plans.
Fellows says this communication has been consistent throughout the two companies’ seven-year relationship.
“Allied Grain Systems are always willing to pick up the phone and discuss how to get the best value out of my infrastructure. That willingness to get in touch, no matter what, has helped us grow over the past six years.”