Fairport & F Ball : The Story Continues

As the premier manufacturer of flooring adhesives and floor preparation products for the contract flooring industry in the UK F. Ball and Co. Ltd moved to its current site in Cheddleton in 1989 where it first encountered Fairport Engineering Ltd during the construction of its then new manufacturing plant. A growing market share led F. Ball and Co. Ltd to contact Fairport Engineering Ltd again in 2008 to provide a new state of the art processing & plant that was completed in the early part of 2009. Time has now moved on and with it the products and the manufacturing standards that are required. Consequently F. Ball and Co. Ltd has once again engaged Fairport Engineering Ltd to expand/remodel the original blending plant. The main parts of the project were:

• The replacement of the existing mixing tower and equipment. To achieve this a section of the existing blending plant roof was removed thus allowing the old equipment to be lifted out. Once removed a new steelwork tower was installed housing a new mixer/receiving hopper, distribution screw conveyors and a new filter to enable the plant to handle ST1 products.
• The existing weigh hopper system was upgraded with ATEX rated butterfly valves/screw conveyors and rotary valves to allow ST1 products to be handled.
• The existing packing and palletising equipment was replaced by new packing, palletising and wrapping systems that are capable of handling bags ranging from 2.5kg to 20kg.
• The bulk tanker unloading silo safety systems were upgraded by means of introducing Stortz connectors/pinch valves, silo pressure switches/vacuum vent valves and new filter controllers with differential pressure monitoring.

As one would expect, the undertaking of this type of project within a production environment that dates back to 1989 presents a unique challenge. In order to address this issue safely Fairport was appointed as both Principal Designer and Principal Contractor, roles that the company has undertaken successfully on any number of previous occasions.

For further information please contact our Communications Manager.