product profile

Maxi-Lift makes the move Material-handling elevators are the rapid transit systems in manufacturing operations and their buckets are like high-speed boxcars.

By clair david urbain

ransforming raw materials into finished goods means handling bulk commodities and shuttling them Tquickly and reliably from delivery to storage or to the production line.

Often, vertical elevators are the conveyors of these materials, and their uptime and efficiency is key to productivity. If the elevator stops or slows the production process, it means greater costs and more headaches for facilities aiming for optimum production and lowest finished per-unit cost. Unfortunately, they can also be a high-wear item, requiring expensive replacement and downtime. Photos: Maxi-Lift I nc.

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Customer needs Right: Maxi-Lift’s “We surveyed end-users of manufacturing facilities in elevator buckets and found Addison, Texas. that 60 percent of them Below: Maxi-Lift were unhappy with elevator management team bucket life. It’s expensive to includes CEO Beau replace elevator buckets, and Sahm, chairman and founder Victor can be dangerous, so outside Sahm Jr., and maintenance professionals are president Paul often called to do the job quickly Phillips. and safely. That’s why we strive to develop buckets that last as material and our bucket design much as six times longer than puts that material in the right other buckets,” says Paul Phillips, place and at the right thickness, Maxi-Lift president. which increases the life and the capacity of our buckets.” Maxi-Lift, based in Addison, Texas, has a 300,000 sq.-ft. Maxi-Lift has a sister company, manufacturing plant that Southwest Agri-Plastics Inc., makes a wide variety of elevator which produces a wide variety analyze, evaluate or validate buckets in various materials. of plastic slats, grates, feeders the technical details of your It is the leading international and other equipment geared for bucket elevators. We specialize manufacturer and marketer agricultural operations. Maxi- in troubleshooting existing of plastic elevator buckets Lift and Southwest Agri-Plastics elevators, assessing upgrade and related accessories for continually work with customers capacity for new demands and agricultural and industrial to identify needs and develop verifying your existing elevator facilities. Since 1973, Maxi- new and innovative products for setup. No problem is too big Lift has helped customers facilities around the world. or too small for our team,” succeed by engineering elevator Phillips says. buckets with longer life, less Presently, their products are breakage and more capacity. used in more than 70 countries. Buckets worthy of For customers, that ultimately “Our products are used on the Maxi-Lift name means improved uptime, lower rice farms in Guyana, elevator “Our customers demand total cost of ownership and upgrades in Romania, new the toughest, longest-lasting greater reliability. feed plants in China, large buckets and we manufacture the river and port projects in North strongest brand-named buckets “Our elevator buckets are America, cement facilities in in the world: Tiger-Tuff, Tiger-CC, used to move bulk material in Mexico, and the largest soybean Maxi-Tuff, CC-Max, and HD-Max. many agricultural and industrial processing plants in Argentina. It’s no surprise that the largest applications around the world. The Maxi-Lift name is known agricultural and industrial In industrial applications, internationally for outstanding Fortune 500 companies ask for our buckets are used to move products and services. We are Maxi-Lift buckets by name,” cement, sand, aggregate and proud to call ourselves the global Phillips says. even glass,” says Phillips, leader in the industry,” says “We have a bucket for every Phillips. Each line of Maxi-Lift application; they are made elevator buckets is built with with ductile iron, steel or “We offer free technical service the durability and capacity in plastic. We design in toughness, that can help you, no matter mind for specific materials and which means longer life. The what type of problem you may be material-handling environments. innovations we put into our facing. We can help you design, continued on page 42 www.IDC-USA.com SPRING/SUMMER 2013 IDC Industrial review 41 product profile Tiger Tuff

AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS in a low-profile style that can help n Tiger Tuff and Tiger Tuff-CC. increase elevator capacity. They are These maximum-duty buckets available in 28 sizes in polyethylene, for agricultural applications are Tiger Tuff-CC nylon and urethane materials. available in 30 sizes in polyethylene, nylon and urethane materials. n Dura-Buket SS. Built primarily for agricultural applications, this They have thicker corners and plastic bucket has more than 50 walls for greater wear resistance years of performance history. Its and heavier front lips for increased versatile design performs well digging capability. The buckets can HD-Max at a wide variety of speeds and be configured to increase elevator applications. It’s also available in a capacity and are excellent high- low-profile style that can increase volume buckets for grain, fertilizer, elevator capacity and comes in pellets and other agricultural or polyethylene. light industrial materials. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS The buckets are made with high- cc-Max n Maxi-Tuff AA. This industrial- impact/abrasion-resistant materials duty bucket is designed for slow- that last long and are non-corrosive speed (125-450 fpm) centrifugal and non-sparking. The Tiger-CC discharge elevators. It’s optimal buckets are designed for high- for cement, stone, sand, gravel, volume operations and can move coal, fertilizer, clay, salt, limestone up to 30,000 bu./hour in a single row and concrete conveyance. It has configuration. Bucket vents can be Maxi-Tuff AA the traditional shape of a cast- added to improve material pick-up iron bucket but has thicker walls and discharge. and lips for greater durability. The polyethylene, nylon or urethane n HD-Max. Second only to the buckets weigh as much as 80 Tiger-Tuff buckets in durability, percent less than cast iron buckets, these buckets have a reinforced which reduces energy requirements DI-max aa front lip to increase bucket life and to operate the elevator. They are reduce bucket breakage. Primarily easier to install and save money used in agricultural applications, when compared with carbon-steel they are available in polyethylene, buckets, Phillips says. They are also nylon and urethane materials in available in medium front (MF) 32 sizes. A low-profile style allows styles, which work well with fluffy, free-flowing materials or materials closer spacing on the elevator belt DI-max ac for increased capacity. Bucket vents that need gentle handling. can be added to facilitate material pick-up and discharge. n Tiger Tuff. Tiger Tuff industrial- duty buckets have the same n CC-Max. These heavy-duty performance characteristics of Tiger agricultural buckets are designed Tuff agricultural duty buckets, but as a direct replacement for CC and Welded Steel are designed to operate in slow- other older-style buckets. They have speed (125-250 fpm) elevators. They the same shape and performance can reduce elevator weight by as characteristics, but are designed to much as 80 percent, netting energy last much longer than conventional savings, and their polyethylene, CC buckets. They are also available nylon or urethane materials and

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unique bucket design results in from 14-, 12-, 10-, or longer life. They are heat-, impact- 7-gauge or 1/4”, 5/16”, and abrasion-resistant and are 3/8” or ½” carbon non-corrosive and non-sparking. steel, aluminum or stainless steel. They n DI-Max. These ductile-iron can be fabricated AA-, AA Digger- and AC-style with optional AR buckets have thicker walls and plates, wear lips, a reinforced front lip for long hardened surfaces life. The ductile iron wears and hard bead welds. better and withstands abrasive achieve longest bucket life and materials better than malleable n Custom styles. Maxi-Lift best performance. iron of the same gauge, resulting engineers and sales professionals in longer life. They can work in are no strangers to special- n Parts and accessories. Maxi- temperatures up to 600 F. application situations. They will Lift offers a wide range of elevator work with you to custom-build bolts, drag conveyor flights, screw n Welded steel. Maxi-Lift has any bucket style to meet the conveyor hanger bearings as well welded steel buckets in AA, AC, demands of your specific material as a full line of belt splices needed SC ACS styles with medium front handling needs. They can even to complete final installation (MF), low front (LF) or high front offer suggestions in design and of your replacement material (HF) lips. They can be fabricated material changes to help you handling equipment.

Four easy steps to replacement bucket selection Facilities can greatly measurement from the back to the material handling For highly abrasive and improve productivity, reduce to the lip as it would project application: high-impact materials. operating costs and extend from the belt or chain. Finally, Polyethylene: FDA-approved elevator life by matching measure the bucket depth, for grain and food n Step 4 the elevator bucket to the which is the overall side products; can be used in Identify bucket material being handled. profile dimension. -120 F to 180 F with 210 F vent pattern intermittent exposure; Vents can aid in bucket fill Maxi-Lift engineers n Step 2 or discharge of light, fluffy Nylon: Non-FDA approved recommend the following Select bucket style materials or materials that for hot, dense, high-impact steps to select the proper Agricultural-style buckets are extremely dense or do abrasive materials from replacement bucket for typically have a high-speed not flow easily. A #1 vent -60 F to 300 F with 350 F your elevator. Consult with centrifugal discharge rate of has vent holes that match intermittent exposure; Maxi-Lift professionals for 210-900 fpm; industrial style the bolt mounting holes; #2 ideas on bucket selection to buckets typically have a low- Urethane: FDA-approved; vent has one row of holes improve capacity, increase speed centrifugal discharge for heavy, abrasive, sticky on 1 1/8” centers; #3 vent productivity and improve rate of 125-450 fpm. Identify materials from -60 F to has two rows of holes on 1 bucket life. your elevator’s fpm speed, 180 F with 210 F 1/8” centers; and #4 vent then identify its style: Tiger- intermittent exposure; has a hole configuration the n Step 1 Tuff, HD-Max, CC-Max, AA, FDA nylon: FDA-approved same as a #3 vent with three Measure the bucket HF, MF, LF, SC, AC, ACS or for hot, high-impact additional holes in each end Measure the bucket custom. abrasive food-grade cap. Custom vents are also length at the back mounting material with -60 F to available and Maxi-Lift sales surface, from end cap to end n Step 3 300 F operating range; and engineering experts cap. For other dimensions, Choose bucket material can offer advice on their lay the bucket on its back Buckets are made with Plastic: For general grain and configuration based on the and measure the projection, several types of materials sugar applications; material being handled. which is the vertical that can be best matched Ductile iron or welded steel: www.IDC-USA.com SPRING/SUMMER 2013 IDC Industrial review 43