Mobile bulk-handling equipment: Plants on wheels

From Chemical Processing: From bucketwheels to hydraulics to operator cabins, stackers, reclaimers, ship-loaders and ship-unloaders demand the same engineering rigor as any fixed processing facility.

Amin Almasi writes:

Stackers, reclaimers, ship loaders and ship unloaders are not vehicles. While they are mobile like cars or trucks, you can’t rely on OEMs to handle the engineering, design, fabrication and commissioning of the equipment.  

This practice often leads to poor operation and reliability issues. Instead, the purchasing and operations teams should take an active role in reviewing all equipment details before the OEM begins production.

Without careful planning, process plants often deal with unscheduled shutdowns and repairs on mobile bulk-handling units. Ensuring proper operation can be a painstaking yet necessary process. For instance, it’s important to specify every major item and subsystem of the unit clearly to ensure optimal performance and to include redundancies of critical systems.

The reason is that mobile equipment is often expected to run continuously at its specified capacity with more than 98% availability based on 18-20 hours of daily operation. That’s a demanding target for such complex machinery.

Read the entire article HERE.

AMT’s Doug Woods: What’s in store at IMTS

From Control Design: In the latest episode of Control Intelligence, Mike Bacidore spoke with Doug Woods, president of the Association for Manufacturing Technology, which hosts the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) September 14-19 at Chicago's McCormick Place.

In this interview, Woods explains the missions of the association and the exhibition, which is the western hemisphere's largest manufacturing trade show, as well as expectations of what the 2026 IMTS has in store and how to navigate the massive event. Listen below.

Transformation strategy sets the direction, delivery makes it real

From Automation World: A successful digital transformation depends on more than a roadmap. Manufacturers need strong strategy and disciplined execution working together from start to finish.

Gareth Williams writes:

Ask a manufacturing general manager whether a clear strategy is essential before investing in digital transformation, and most would answer an emphatic yes. Often, they have a strategy already; a workshop output, a phased roadmap, or an agreed target (such as reducing unplanned downtime by 5%), aligned across production, maintenance, IT and finance. 

It’s easy to assume that the hard part is getting the strategy signed off, and transformation is “actually won” in delivery. But that’s only half-right. Even with well-crafted plans, plenty of sites keep operating much as before, which suggests that delivery alone isn’t the answer either. 

Strategy and delivery are different disciplines, with distinct skills and you need both for a successful transformation.  

Read the entire article HERE.

Podcast: Condensate recovery — know what’s in the water

From Chemical Processing: From steam trap sprawl to a phenol plant that ignored 400x the recommended organic carbon limit, Brad Buecker walks through why condensate return demands real chemistry — and the tools (ion exchange, activated carbon, film-forming amines) that make it work.

Recapping the week on Processing

Articles

Engineering gentle flow: Inside the next generation of tubular drag conveyors

Flexible, enclosed tubular drag conveying systems offer food processors the ability to navigate complex layouts while ensuring gentle handling and hygienic operation.

Meeting modern manufacturing demands through robotics-first automation

Robotics-first automation uses intelligent systems and software-driven controls to improve flexibility, throughput and operational efficiency.

Evaluating vapor compression vs. membrane-based systems in WFI generation

As biopharmaceutical production continues to evolve, both technologies are likely to maintain important roles within the industry.

The truth about chiller capacity: Understanding the chiller capacity triangle

Properly matching a chiller to the operating conditions helps ensure the best combination of capacity, efficiency, and long-term performance.

Case study: Retrofit helps copper mine save 288,000 liters of sealing water per day on critical tailings pump

A major copper mining operation replaced its traditional packing with a custom-designed mechanical seal from John Crane on a high-density slurry pump. The upgrade reduced sleeve wear, lowered maintenance costs and improved operational efficiency.

Processing Q&A: ANYmal, the autonomous plant inspection robot

Vigier Cement in Switzerland has integrated ANYmal, an autonomous inspection robot, to perform nightly assessments of its mills, significantly improving maintenance accuracy and operational efficiency through advanced sensors and data analysis platforms.

Podcast

The reality of Industry 5.0 adoption with Fluke’s Vineet Thuvara

A survey by Fluke Corporation shows that Industry 5.0 adoption is moving slower than expected as manufacturers address legacy systems, workforce readiness, data, and return on investment. Listen to the episode below.