Choose Intralox for continuous improvement.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A.R.P. is a cooperative company and the Italian market leader in the field of manufacturing tomato sauces. The company has 120 members, processes approximately 200,000 tons of tomatoes every year, and forms part of the CIO Group, the overall market leader in terms of volume of tomatoes sold. In order to maintain its front-running and competitive position within its own reference market, A.R.P has for many years practiced the philosophy of continuous improvement to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of its installations.

In 2005, A.R.P. decided to analyze the inclined conveyor belts of its primary and secondary tomato washing installations in effort to reduce maintenance costs. These tough applications are notoriously abrasive on all components in the process.

Mr. C. Carini, A.R.P. Industrial Manager, contacted Intralox to learn more about its new, long-lasting conveyance solution for tomato processing applications, the Abrasion Resistant System, which he had been shown on previous occasions.

Developed specifically to combat the problems commonly associated with conveyor belt performance in wet, abrasive applications. Reliable and low-maintenance, the system provides reduced downtime and maintenance costs and increases belt life. Each component of the Abrasion Resistant System was designed to deliver greater service life in highly abrasive applications.

Moulded from abrasion-resistant nylon, water absorption of the Abrasion Resistant belt is reduced to 1% or less, while it's flush grid surface facilitates water flow-through. The sprockets of the Abrasion Resistant System, moulded in ultra abrasion-resistant polyurethane, are enhanced with a greatly enlarged wear surface, adding to durability, while their lug teeth provide great strength and longer service life. Finally, the patented dual rod technology of the system dramatically reduces wear in the hinge area by eliminating the sliding motion that causes premature belt failure. All abrasion-resistant enhancements combined extend anticipated belt life to 2-3 times that of traditional plastic belts, significantly reducing belt replacement costs. Should any portion of the belt sustain damage, the modular plastic design allows processors to replace only the damaged modules without removing the entire belt, reducing maintenance and repair time by 90%.

Lighter and easier to maintain that metal belts, the Abrasion Resistant System offers the added security of elimination of contamination due to metal wear debris. And, unlike robber belts, The Abrasion Resistant System's positive drive system runs at low tension, causing less stress on components and extending belt life. The overall result is higher process reliability.

Technicians from the two companies completed a careful analysis of the washing application. In May 2006, the first Intralox Abrasion Resistant System inclined conveyor solution was installed at A.R.P. and tested for the entire 2006 campaign; the results at the end of the season were excellent.

On the basis of those results, A.R.P. decided in 2007 to install a second Intralox Abrasion Resistant System on a particularly extreme inclined conveyor. At the end of the 2007 productive season, both Intralox belts showed all the signs of excellent abrasion resistance: Reduced lengthening and negligible wear on the belt and sprockets point to an average service life of 8-10 working seasons, 4-5 times longer than the service life of the belts previously used.

Contact Intralox on tel [phone] or visit www.intralox.com