Introduction

The handling of raw materials in bags is becoming more and more used by companies, especially in those situations where production requirements are highly demanding and daily.

Currently many companies, such as plastic, food for humans and pets and chemicals producers, are provided with raw materials in bags. This is due to the different advantages that this type of supply has: ease of storage, distribution of bags on pallets and, in general, its low cost compared to other methods.

When medium to high-capacity silos are available, it is necessary to have the appropriate technology to fill them with materials. In addition to this, companies need to automate and optimize their industrial processes and also provide protection to operators who open and empty the sacks. Today there are companies that no longer carry out the processes of opening bags manually.

Comav, specialist in the Raw Material Reception Process

When talking about the semi-automatic or automatic bag opening process, our Partner Comav from Italy, with more than 40 years of experience in the designing, manufacturing and installing of equipment for debagging of raw materials, guarantees absolute reliability.

In reference to the process of bag emptying, Comav offers a diverse variety of equipment: from systems that are fed with bags individually by means of a conveyor belt or elevator, to systems that have the capacity to take a full pallet with bags.

On the other hand, within its range of products Comav offers its own valves and equipment for pneumatic transport, ensuring an optimal transfer of materials.

Continuing with the equipment for the emptying of materials, Comav offers more than 40 models and versions of these, which vary in their capacities, sizes, applications and operation. This diversity of systems allows to satisfy any customer need. Among others we find the following models that the Italian company offers: SVR COMPACT, SVR DEPA, SRV NT, SVR EL.

The systems are suitable for opening bags containing various materials inside, for example: plastic granules, PVC powders, carbonates, talc, sugar, flour, coffee and cocoa beans, seeds, and many others.

Important Comav developments

Technological advances in recent years have forced Comav to design and manufacture its equipment with criteria that comply with the strictest ATEX regulations.

What is ATEX?

The term refers to the existence of an explosive atmosphere in the work environment, due to the presence of flammable gases, vapors or dusts, which in combination with an ignition, combustion spreads generating an explosion and flames, endangering people.

Thanks to its research and engineering development, Comav has presented its equipment for opening bags with ATEX 20 certification.

Another great development achieved by Comav is the special CIP (Clean in Place) or "gull wing" version, which through washing with water or cleaning with compressed air prevents cross contamination. This model is mainly focused on those customers who require minimal or no cross-contamination. The manufacture of this equipment complies with the Food Contact Materials Regulation EC1935/2004.

Last but not least, the important technical and technological development of the company for Plastic Industry is the system for handling empty plastic bags, that is, the customer will no longer see the bags as waste, but as a possibility to generate a value from it.

Why is it important to highlight this development?

Comav’s mission and vision is and will be to reduce the waste of raw materials, taking into consideration the bag emptying coefficient close to 100% and, as aim, to take advantage of most of the materials. This is the reason that Comav is promoting a system called “Save Money Technology” which is integrated into the bag emptying machine. Its operating principle is: it takes the empty bag, crushes it into small pieces with a grinder and transfers them to the extruder by means of pneumatic transport; in this way there is a total use of the materials.

With the installation of the Save Money Technology system, the ROI (return-on-investment) time is considerably reduced.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we live in a dynamic and changing world with continuous technological advances; Comav with its more than 40 years of experience in the Bulk Handling process and with its 4.0 technologies guarantees reliability to the Industry.

Thanks to its extended sales network, this Italian company can help each of its customer in every phase of the project, by providing the best solution for the Raw Material Reception process.