Kotzur’s in-house silo unloaders and sweeps have evolved to provide a complete solution for customers.
Just over a decade ago, Kotzur managing director Andrew Kotzur received a phone call from a stressed farmer who had a blocked unloader, a silo full of grain and a waiting truck.
Coincidently, Kotzur was just ten minutes away, so he visited to see the blockage firsthand.
It wasn’t the first time he had received calls and emails from farmers about the stress of time-consuming unloader blockages.
“By diverting my trip, I was able to experience how hard it was for farmers when unloaders block and slide gates get jammed. It’s jolly hard work to unblock them and get grain flowing again,” he told ABHR.
“In 2013, we set about trialling different design ideas at our Walla Walla site until we had a prototype we were confident would deliver the results we were aiming to achieve. The Toowoomba team started manufacturing the unloaders and have continued developing and improving them since the initial trials,” Kotzur said.
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The family business has its unloaders and sweeps installed in facilities around the country.
Kotzur is proud the business has delivered unloaders that clean well and leave minimal grain on the silo floor, resulting in a significant reduction in reported blockages.
He believes innovative thinking is a contributing factor that led to the creation of the unloader, which eliminates the need to enter the silo while the loader is operating and has minimised the effort required to give the silo a final clean.
Having the sweep drive under the floor means it can be permanently wired and is on a separate drive (variable speed is an option) to the main unloader.
The centre pivots for the sweep have fully machined mating surfaces and resemble an oversized turntable.
The strategically placed open slide gates provide a consistent flow of grain, and the offset grain inlets lead to an underfloor auger with controlled pitched flight to prevent inadvertent overloading of the subfloor. This is another feature that has yet to be replicated in other on-farm type silo unloading systems.
Additionally, the slide gates run on ball bearings, this coupled with the large diameter rack and pinion hand wheel used to open and close the slide gates further contributes to the ease of operation of the slide gates for the customer.
Keeping customer safety in mind, the large inlets are designed to minimise the risk of grain bridging, while a 50mm tube runs across the middle outlet as an extra precaution.
As an added safety measure, safety bars are fitted under the slide gate to provide protection to anyone stepping into the outlet, if industry recommendations of not entering a running silo are ignored.
Kotzur said the team opted to fit the unloaders with industrial quality gearboxes rather than traditional gearboxes and chose to run the unloaders at a slower speed compared to most others.
“By running the unloaders at this reduced speed, we expect a much-improved life out of our gearboxes and unloaders. To date, we are achieving the desired results,” he said.
The external components of the unloaders are all galvanised, as opposed to painted finishes, to prevent rust and, again, to increase the longevity of the unloading equipment.
“We have eliminated the need for chains in the system, and the unloaders are now fitted with a COG belt drive,” he said.
“This has produced a quieter running unloader, and reduces maintenance associated with replacing chains as the result of wear and tear.”
Kotzur wanted to produce unloaders and sweeps consistent with its mission with making a difference for its customers. The company consistently manufactures bulk solid storage and handling equipment that is built to last and includes features that make operation easier.
Not content with the status quo, the Kotzur team is continually investing in research and development to make design improvements in the unloaders again.
