Geometrica focuses on domes and space frame structures
Geometrica, celebrating its 20th year, has designed, manufactured and installed domes and space frame structures since 1992. The company has developed unique technology to build stunning long-span structures. With facilities in Houston,Texas and Monterrey, Mexico, Geometrica supports its clients with a global network of representatives, and has delivered domes and space frames in nearly 30 countries.
Considering its customers’ needs, Geometrica offers: architectural solutions; industrial buildings; and bulk material storage.
 
BULK MATERIAL STORAGE
Power plants, mines, cement plants, ports and many other industries need to stock large quantities of dry bulk materials. These were traditionally left uncovered, or stored in vertical silos. But open stockpiles produce dust and contaminated runoff, and silos are small and expensive. Due to increasing environmental concerns, many organizations desiring covered storage have looked for and found a cost-effective way to solve their problem: Geometrica’s geodesic domes.
Material stockpiles may be classified in four general categories by their shape: ring, conical, longitudinal and free form. Ring piles are formed by automated circular stacking/reclaiming equipment having a slewing stacker at the centre and a bridge reclaimer spanning the radius of the pile. A fixed drop from above forms conical piles. Linear stacker/reclaimers or trippers form
longitudinal piles. And dumping material from trucks or stacking with moveable conveyors and spreading with front-end loaders forms irregular piles. Any of these types of piles may rest directly on the ground, or may be constrained at its perimeter by a wall. Geometrica’s geodesic domes easily adapt to each of these types of piles and cover even the largest ones.
Geometrica’s geodesic domes are made with its efficient structural system of strong and corrosion resistant galvanized steel or aluminium. The light, prefabricated domes are containerized and shipped from the company’s plant to anywhere in the world. Construction may proceed before, during or after material handling equipment is installed, and, frequently, the domes are built over existing live material stockpiles with minimal or no downtime.
 
INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
Geometrica has often been recognized for the quality of the services that it offers. Among notable achievements are:
Finalist — Carl E. Nelson Best Practices Award
The Carl E. Nelson Best Practices Award was established to recognize excellence in the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) field. This award provides an exciting and unique way for end user organizations to share their ECM project implementations with their peers and for ECM solution providers to showcase the ROI (return on investment) that their solutions can achieve. Geometrica submitted its entry based upon the
use of a wiki to implement a ISO9001 Quality Management System, and further develop it into a full knowledge management system. The company now also uses its wiki for information sharing with clients, suppliers and potential clients. Geometrica’s entry has garnered it a finalist position in the Small Company Category (100 employees or less). Wikis are a new tool for effective collaboration in document creation and editing. Geometrica has found that using a wiki enables the experts in the organization — the wiki users — to read, edit and maintain documents right at points of use.
AIIM is the organization that provides education, research and best practices to help companies find, control, and optimize their information. The winners of the award are picked by the international membership of AIIM.
ASQ recognizes Geometrica
Earlier this year,ASQ (American Society for Quality),‘the global voice of quality’, featured Geometrica in its publication, recognizing the company for its use of a wiki for its quality and safety programmes and also featured the company in its carousel of on-line stories.
2011 OHSAS 18001:2007 Certification
In 2011, Geometrica achieved the OHSAS 18001:2007 certification, awarded by BSI. The Safety System, integrated with the current Quality System, is also wiki based, and enables the company to maintain high standards for the employees’ safety.
 
2009 ISO 9001 Certification
After nine months of developing a wiki-based Quality Management System (QMS), Geometrica was visited by BSI personnel and successfully passed the ISO 9001:2008 auditing process. By implementing the QMS through wiki, the certification was achieved in a minimal time and proved that this ground-breaking approach to quality systems taken by the company was the best option. A paper using a wiki to implement a QMS was written to explain the steps for the implementation. It has been published in several journals and websites that understand the enormous contribution of a wiki for such an endeavour. Geometrica continues to share with various companies in different industries, as they explore the opportunity to become certified using a wiki-based system.

2007 Marchwood ‘Jewel in the Crown’
Geometrica provided the structure for the Veolia Environmental Services Marchwood, UK facility. Veolia’s CEO Denis Gasquet called the facility the “jewel in Veolia’s crown”, and a major achievement among the 50 incinerators it runs across Europe. It was described by Veolia’s UK chief executive Jean-Dominique Mallet as a “unique, state-of-the-art facility”. The architect for this remarkable dome is Jean Robert Mazaud of S’Pace in Paris, France.
2006 Safety Certificate — Bateman/Lafarge
Geometrica was granted a Safety Certificate for contributing in achieving 50,000 man hours accident-free on the Lafarge Limestone Stockpile Domes Project. The certificate was issued by both Lafarge Cement and Bateman.
2005: Safety recognition from Nemak Corp.
Geometrica’s commitment to safety was acknowledged by Nemak for not having any accidents while building the Nemak structures.
 
THE LARGEST STORAGE DOME IN SOUTH AMERICA, CONSTRUCTED OVER AN OPERATING STOCKPILE
In one of the company’s most notable recent contracts, Geometrica Inc. together with Carlos Caballero SRL has created a rugged solution high in the Bolivian Altiplano.
Located over 4,000 metres above sea level in the Altiplano of the Andes Mountains, the San Cristobal Mine is the largest mine in Bolivia. The open-pit silver, lead and zinc mine’s production process requires the transportation of 150,000 tonnes of rock, and the processing of 40,000 tonnes of mineral daily.
In early 2010, Bolivian contractor Carlos Caballero SRL responded to a bid request for a stockpile containment solution. Minera San Cristobal — in accordance with its principles regarding worker protection and protection of the environment and neighbouring communities — sought to prevent the release of dust from its stockpile into the environment, and protect the material awaiting transport to the mine’s ore processing facility.
Caballero teamed with global storage company Geometrica, Inc. to propose a customized containment solution for the mine. Following review of the proposal and visits to other Geometrica bulk storage domes in South America by San Cristobal engineers, the project was awarded to the Caballero-Geometrica team. Caballero served as the main contractor and installer of the dome, while Geometrica, as a subcontractor, engineered, manufactured and supplied the dome. Key factors in the decision to employ a Geometrica dome solution for the site included the team’s extensive experience, the capability to build around an operating stockpile, and the capability to follow an irregular shape for the supports.
The finished stockpile containment structure is a Geometrica dome 140m in diameter and 59m in height anchored by concrete foundation — the largest dome of its kind in South America. The foundation, which accommodates a 9m change in elevation over 140m, is fitted to the terrain. The dome is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 150kph and an ice load of 110kg per square metre. The Geometrica dome at San Cristobal Mine is made up of
more than 88,000 galvanized steel tubes organized and inserted into aluminium hubs to form the structure. Local crews recruited by Caballero built the dome as deliveries by Geometrica arrived on site.
Shipments consisted of containerized crates of parts, each holding 2t of structure, and organized by construction phase. The Geometrica system requires no welding, as the prefabricated tubes slide easily into the aluminium hubs and hold fast. The precise yet simple assembly process allowed the mine to continue to operate in the midst of dome construction and made it easier to assemble the building in an environment subject to high winds.
A ventilation lantern is located at the top of the dome and additional armature on the side of the dome can support dust removal equipment. The interior includes a system for lowering the material-conveyor pulley for maintenance, and a catwalk circling the dome interior. Three 13m x 10m doors allow simultaneous access by up to two off-road vehicles to the interior of the dome. The finished building is clad in galvanized and painted metal sheets and translucent skylights provide natural light. Material is transported from the dome to the mine’s ore processing plant via an existing underground tunnel.
In addition to creating the largest bulk storage dome in South America at the San Cristobal Mine, Geometrica has designed more than 15 bulk storage domes for mining projects located in the Andes, where construction challenges include rugged terrain, remote jobsites and insanely high snow loads. Examples of recent projects include the Barrick Zaldivar Mine, the Mantos Blancos copper mine, both located in neighbouring Chile, as well as Minera Aguas Tenidas in Spain. Hundreds of Geometrica structures have been built for clients and end users around the world including BHP Billiton, Anglo-American, Barrick, Codelco, First Quantum, Fluor, Sumitomo, and other mining companies in locations ranging from the Sahara desert to the jungles of Borneo.
In addition to the solutions for irregular shapes, Geometrica offers containment solutions for automated, ring-shaped stockpiles and for spans of up to 300m. A precise design process, the ability to package and ship a complete structure by construction phase, and mechanical structural joints that do not require welding result in a durable structure that is easily built in a wide range of environments.
 
 
World-class bulk storage from DOMTEC® International
DOMTEC® International (DOMTEC) has been in the insulated concrete dome construction business for over 20 years providing global world-class bulk storage. This article explores the types of product stored in domes, advantages of domes, the challenges of building in different industries and how DOMTEC overcomes those challenges.
 
DRY BULK STORAGE INDUSTRIES
Domes become cost-competitive when storing dry bulk materials in capacities greater than 6,000 tonnes. Products generally fall into one of four industries: y mining: frack (frac) sand, iron ore, slag, minerals, molybdenum,
precious metals, limestone, coal; y power: wood pellets, wood chips, miscanthus grass, limestone,
fly ash, bottom ash, FGD gypsum, coal, petroleum coke; y agricultural: phosphates, potash, and other types of fertilizers
(nitrates and sulphates, etc.); grains (wheat, soyabeans, and
meals), peanuts, sugar, salt; and y cement: cement, clinker, fly ash, limestone, gypsum.
 
DOME ADVANTAGES
The inert nature of concrete, the benefit of polyurethane foam insulation and exterior DomeSkinTM (waterproof roofing membrane) provide an optimized climate for ensuring high product integrity while in storage.
Benefits include:
  • high settlement tolerance (reducing or eliminating deep foundations);
  • no weather delays during construction (construction activity from the interior);
  • no interior condensation;
  • no fugitive dust;
  • no internal structural elements (no dust settlement);
  • fire safe;
  • earthquake, high wind/driving rain resistant;
  • supports heavy apex and asymmetrical loading;
  • small footprint y product stored high against walls
  • variety of reclaim options.
 
INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
MINING: Mines are sometimes in areas accessed by dirt roads, at high altitudes, with short building seasons or far from large cities.This makes planning and scheduling critical. Ready mix concrete trucks must continuously access the job site, be dispatched at correct intervals and concrete must not set up before arriving and being applied to the dome structure. USA mines require an additional level of safety requirements in the Mine Safety and Health Act (MSHA) above and beyond what is typically required in the Occupational Safety Health Act (OSHA) requirements at most industry sites.
POWER: Power plants are heavily regulated and often self- impose a strict safety and quality-control standard. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) or Requests for Quote (RFQs) sometimes consist of hundreds of pages of complex requirements. Security is critical and gaining access requires advance planning.
AGRICULTURAL: Domes and reclaim equipment must take caustic product into account and product degradation from mechanical equipment. Train cars continually delivering product to the port or terminal can block entrances, requiring strict scheduling or creative ideas to deliver concrete.
CEMENT: Cement market demand is cyclical, in terms of seasonal summer construction, and year to year fluctuations in the general economy. Due to the high cost of shutting down and restarting kilns, plants prefer to run year round, with short term plant outages. This means construction must often occur within narrow windows to avoid a slowdown in production.
 
STAYING COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET
y Each industry has logistical challenges. Being nimble, planning, scheduling and thinking through the entire construction process, time of year and contingencies has reaped the reward of 100% on-time completion for every DOMTEC project.
  • Stringent safety requirements on mining sites helped the entire company hone safety programmes and procedures and think safety from job site to office.
  • Quality control requirements in the power industry helped quantify quality assurance and quality control policy. DOMTEC’s 77-step quality control plan is second-to-none in the dome industry.
  • RFQs from varied industries demands attention to detail. DOMTEC’s RFQ review process ensures complete understanding of the document, and safeguards from costly change orders in time and money.
  • DOMTEC has weathered difficult world economic times and become a fiscally fit and responsible company. Its healthy financial condition supports adequate bonding capacity and peace of mind to owners and contractors who hire DOMTEC, knowing they’ll be around long-term.
  • Specialization in dome construction helps DOMTEC stay nimble and focused on being a world-class dome builder. It has an extensive network of consultants, engineering firms, equipment suppliers, and subcontractors who performed to its required standard of excellence in the past and on whom it can call to fill additional scope an owner requires. DOMTEC partners with the finest material handling companies to meet budget and unloading demands for its clients. Using owner contacts or DOMTEC’s extensive network, it finds storage solutions suitable to client needs.
  • Specializing in dry bulk storage is part of DOMTEC’s strategy and long-term success. Its goal is to be the pre-eminent dry bulk storage builder in the world.
CONCLUSION
Domes make economic sense when storing dry bulk products and keep product integrity high. No matter the industry or location, DOMTEC has and continues to deliver exceptional bulk storage options around the world.
 
COMPANY BACKGROUND
Established in 1995 after more than 10 years in the monolithic concrete dome industry, DOMTEC was founded on the core values of honesty, excellence and continuous improvement. Now a global leader in bulk storage, DOMTEC partners with owners, engineers and contractors to build properly engineered and constructed domes of superb craftsmanship to protect the bulk storage products of the world.
 
 
Laidig’s new hydraulic DOMinatorTM reclaims bulk product from storage facilities
Laidig Systems, Inc. of Mishawaka, Indiana, USA has unveiled the new hydraulic version of its extreme-duty DOMinatorTM reclaim system. The Model 2098H DOMinator builds upon the highly-successful electric DOMinator, already installed in nearly 40 silos and domes worldwide.
The DOMinator series is well- known in the industry for offering dependable, high-volume, fully- automated reclamation of hard-to- handle bulk materials. Its massive reclaim auger and rugged drive system are precisely controlled by Laidig’s Local Machine Interface to provide the most powerful and efficient reclamation available. One of the unique features of the DOMinator is the easy-access perimeter service area — a walkway
integrated into the entire perimeter of the storage structure, protected with a reinforced high-strength steel shield, to allow inspection and service of the track-driven advance system.
The new hydraulic DOMinator reclaim system offers significant benefits over its electric counterpart, including:
  • more sensitive auger advance control, resulting in longer life of auger and drive components;
  • better suited for use in hazardous or explosive environments since power is conveyed to the rotating drive system via a hydraulic union rather than electric bus bars;
  • support for larger auger tube diameters, resulting in the potential for a ~30% increase in delivery rates — up to 700CFM (20m3/min);
  • increased both starting torque and running torque by nearly 60%, providing dependable reclamation of materials with extremely-poor flow characteristics; and
  • designed to accommodate larger- diameter silos or domes, up to 120ft (36.5m), with storage capacities in excess of 1,000,000ft3 (30,000m3).
 
Laidig has pioneered the development of automated storage and reclaim since 1961, and is now a noted provider of dry-bulk silo reclaimers around the world. It designs, markets, manufactures and services a wide range of storage and reclaim systems, and excels in providing customized solutions for materials with special handling
requirements, especially those that require exceptionally-rugged, extreme-duty reclaimers. The company’s research and testing
has resulted in the development of systems that are well-suited for the storage and reclaim of hard-to-handle bulk solids, especially products with poor flow characteristics, including cement, fly ash, coal, gypsum, cellulosic feedstocks, biomass, meals, pellets, chemicals, recycled products, and a multitude of other bulk materials for process plants or port facilities.
The hydraulic DOMinator is just one of the new state-of-the-art reclaim systems recently developed at Laidig. Its new X-TraktorTM system
provides cantilever reclamation in diameters up to 80ft (24m) and as large as 160ft (48m) with a perimeter-supported screw. In addition, Laidig’s new PlanetaireTM is ideal for the storage of high-density materials with a beam-supported auger enabling unprecedented access to all mechanical components; even in a full silo. As with all Laidig’s track-drive, cantilever, and cone- bottom reclaimers, these new systems are designed for demanding, high-capacity applications, including those which require 24/7 operation.
For applications where FIFO (first-in-first-out) inventory management is of value, Laidig’s systems have a lot to offer. Its bottom screw reclaimers are specifically engineered to come as close as possible to making FIFO a reality. Unlike most other companies that provide reclaimers as just another component in the system, reclaim systems are Laidig’s sole focus. Laidig designs, custom-engineers, fabricates, tests, installs and services its storage and reclaim systems worldwide.
 
 
Dome Technology: domes built to withstand wind and weather
The technology of building thin shell MonolithicTM domes by spraying foam and concrete to the inside of a pressurized, dome shaped, fabric airform was developed and patented in Idaho by brothers, Barry, David and Randy South. In 1975, the South brothers began experimenting with inflatable airforms, spraying them with polyurethane foam to develop initial rigidity, then adding rebar and continuous-spray concrete to form the completed structure. A year later, they created their first monolithic dome using the continuous spray-in-place process. They built the first monolithic dome home in 1977 and two years later were awarded their first United States patent for the monolithic construction process. The first patent was followed by a Canadian patent in 1980 and a second United States patent in 1982.Additional registered and pending patents for various dome construction applications have followed in the ensuing years.
By 1986, Dome Technology had constructed 100 domes and two years later built its first dome in Europe. In 1989, the company built 28 domes for grain storage in the Middle East. By 1994, Dome Technology had constructed 200 domes along with its first dome in Eastern Europe. A year later the company built its first dome in Asia, and three years later built its first dome in South America, as well as the world’s largest clinker dome silo built in the United Arab Emirates. In 1988, Hurricane George struck three of the company’s domes in Puerto Rico, none of which sustained any damage. No structural damage has occurred to dome structures that have been in the paths of recent hurricanes in the southeastern United States including Hurricanes Charley, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne (2004) and Dennis and Katrina (2005). One of the company’s storage domes in Manzanillo, Mexico withstood 6.2 and 7.8 Richter scale earthquakes, while most surrounding port facilities and structures were heavily damaged or slipped into the ocean.
In 2000, Dome Technology built the then largest diameter dome ever built, a 280-foot diameter church structure in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2007, the company completed an industrial coal storage dome in the Midwest with a diameter of 298 feet, making it the current largest dome in the world. The Alabama church dome remains the largest architectural dome. Over the ten years prior to 2002, the company averaged in
excess of 20 domes per year. With good business resiliency planning following serious setbacks caused by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Dome Technology began diversifying its products and services and expanding its markets for non- industrial dome applications. It has been successful in doing so and has experienced phenomenal growth over the last four years.
Beginning in 2005 and continuing into 2006, the industrial market rebounded strongly while the architectural market, particularly schools, remained strong. The years 2006 and 2007 marked an important entry into large recreational applications for Dome Technology’s monolithic domes with completion of its first indoor water park under an elliptical dome as part of a new major chain hotel in Ohio. The years 2007 and 2008 showed very strong domestic and foreign markets with foreign dome construction projects pending, under way, or completed in Canada, Poland, Latvia, Morocco, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Over the last 30 plus years, Dome Technology has constructed some 500 monolithic domes throughout the United States and in Canada, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Argentina, Germany, Jordan, Lithuania, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Croix,Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and United Arab Emirates.
 
REFURBISHMENTS
As with all ageing equipment, domes can wear out and need refurbishing. One interesting contract recently completed by Dome Technology was the recovering of an existing dry cargo storage dome.
The storage dome was built over 20 years ago by another company. Wear and tear had exposed some of the polyurethane foam and the material began to sag.
An off-white double-kynar painted steel shingle was proposed and accepted as a covering. The kynar paint would act as a rust inhibitor from both sides of the shingle and provide years of protection. Damaged shingles can be easily replaced as needed, avoiding costly repairs trying to recover the entire dome. Dome Technology has a travelling crew with years of experience covering double-curved surfaces such as domes with metal shingles. They could provide an aesthetically pleasing cladding on the dome in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Due to stringent deadlines, there were just nine weeks to complete the job. Mobilization, the Labor Day holiday and other scheduling conflicts with the safety instructor caused a week and a half delay in the required MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) training. After the training was done, there were only seven weeks to complete the job.
Shingling began and went smoothly until the head house, at the apex of the dome, was inspected. Several years of weather had deteriorated the existing foam. A water proofing solution was proposed and accepted to remove the existing foam insulation, shingle around the head house then waterproof and recover with foam. The project was completed three weeks ahead of the contracted deadline. The customer PCS Phosphate was pleased that all objectives were met and the project was completed ahead of schedule.
 
GRAIN DOME FOR PARRISH AND HEIMBECKER
The advantages of choosing ‘dome’ style storage and handling facilities compared to common concrete and steel silos are numerous. Canadian grain handler Parrish and Heimbecker’s (P&H), which moves 3mt (million metric tonnes) of grain to export and domestic markets, settled on these advantages after exhaustive comparison with the aforementioned.
Compared with the storage limitations of a traditional silo with a cylindrical wall and conical or flat roof, the entire interior of the DomeSiloTM can be used to contain the stored product, thereby increasing overall storage capacity for any given diameter and height. P&H operations worked with Dome engineering to create a unique conveyer system to maximize performance handling at its Hamilton, Ontario facility.
P&H realized considerable financial savings with the elimination of deep foundations required for other storage types. The superior strength of the DomeSiloTM provides a high tolerance for differential settlement. Additionally the reinforced concrete DomeSiloTM uniquely maintains structural integrity in extreme heat and fire conditions. Its designed strength provides superior explosion containment.
The DomeSiloTM building process is extremely efficient. Inflation of the DomeSiloTM membrane takes just a few hours, after which all construction processes continue inside the inflated dome, safe from outside weather conditions. This protected environment allows construction in adverse weather and enhances safer, faster completion of the project. Adding to this is a positive environmental impact. The efficient double- curvature structure of a DomeSiloTM conserves construction materials by using less materials to enclose more storage volume than any other comparative structure. During construction, as well as during operation, the DomeSiloTM more efficiently contains potentially harmful environmental contaminants.
The twin storage domes capable of housing more than 60,000 tonnes of agricultural products are boosting grain volumes in the Port of Hamilton. The new Parrish and Heimbecker (P&H) terminal on Pier 10 are a primary centre for moving grains and other agricultural commodities. The facilities are primarily used for export purposes, but also handle shipments from the US and Western Canada destined for local processors.
In addition to handling the traditional coarse grains that move through the port, the 90 foot high by 190 foot diameter domes have the flexibility to handle protein meals, sugar, salt and granular fertilizer. An integral part of the terminal design is the specialized under floor conveyor system connecting the two domes, which, in conjunction with other on-site conveyor systems, will dramatically increase loading and discharge speed for trucks, rail cars and ships, making the 380,000ft2 terminal one of the most efficient on the Great Lakes.
P&H, with over 100 years of agribusiness experience, has committed over $30 million to the fully secured terminal, which has direct access to marine, road and rail including full Seaway draught, truck scale staging and a 25-unit railcar capacity. The terminal also has considerable available space to accommodate future expansion.
The domes, which were constructed by Dome Technology incorporate a floor level high-speed conveyor system that, compared to any other Canadian export elevator in the Great Lakes, will improve loading and discharge times for all modes of transportation by as much as 20–25%, according to P&H. In addition, the flat storage allows P&H to handle proteins that do not work that well through a silo and, since the facility is
The dome for Parrish & Heimbecker’s grain facility at the Port of Hamilton.
designed to be less harsh on product handling, it has attracted new customers.
“This facility is probably the most efficient on the east coast,” said Bruce Wood, president and CEO of the Hamilton Port Authority. “With direct dockage and the slip, four ships can be accommodated at once.”
The domes are constructed by inflating fabric airforms and subsequently spraying the inside fabric with polyurethane foam to develop the initial rigidity, then applying rebar and continuous spray concrete to form the completed structure. Compared with large conventional free span structures the domes’ construction costs are lower. Other benefits include high energy efficiency, rapid construction and better space utilization as bearing walls and columns are not required. During the past 30 years hundreds of similar domes have been built around the world.
Bruce Hodgson, director of market development at St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation said,“Parrish and Heimbecker has recognized the efficiencies of the marine mode with the opening of their state-of-the-art facility in the Port of Hamilton. By including our system in their supply chain they are well positioned to work closely with their suppliers and to increase their market share by providing their customers with a consistent and reliable service while adding value. We look forward to working with them in the future.”
Bill Parrish Jr., president and CEO, P&H paid tribute to Rob Bryson, director of Eastern Canadian Grain Operations for bringing the facility in on time and budget in a two- to three- year time frame. Parrish told the audience,“We’ve been around a long time, we’ve seen a lot and learned a lot. I think our stability is a key point in our success. Our key management team has been together for over ten years and most of us closer to twenty. We’re old but we’re not rusty and this is a vibrant time for the agribusiness. Over the past five years P&H have purchased or constructed five flour mills and now have seven mills. The seven mills consume 1mt of wheat per year equalling 33 of the newly constructed dome’s capacity.”


CST Covers offers custom-designed aluminium domes for bulk storage
CST Industries, Inc., is a complete storage system provider for engineering and manufacturing professionals in thousands of different industries and applications throughout the world.
The company specializes in manufacture and construction of factory-coated metal storage tanks, aluminium domes and specialty covers and reclaimer systems.
The group’s portfolio consists of CST Storage, CST Covers, Weaver Reclaimer Systems and Vulcan Tanks. Six manufacturing facilities and technical design centres and multiple regional sales offices are located throughout North America and the United Kingdom.
International offices are located in Brazil, United Kingdom, India, Singapore,Vietnam and Dubai. Currently more than 275,000 CST tanks and covers have been installed in 125 countries throughout the world.
 
CST COVERS
CST Covers’ aluminium domes are an ideal solution for almost any storage application. Aluminium dome structures offer the following advantages:
  • corrosion resistance: aluminium is inherently corrosionresistant versus other alloys. It will last the lifetime of the structure and will not need to be painted or repainted for protection from the atmosphere;
  • low lifetime maintenance cost: with no corrosion or the need to repaint to protect the structure over time, there is little-to-no maintenance cost associated with an aluminium dome;
  • clear-span capability: aluminium’s lightweight characteristics allow for larger clear-span cover capability than structures utilizing steel, concrete and other materials;
  • fast and low cost construction: creative design and lightweight components provide for installation in a third of the time it takes to install some other cover systems. Less time, labour and equipment needs combine for a low total cost of installation;
  • design flexibility: aluminium’s excellent strength-to-weight ratios and creative component design yield covers and structures that cannot be achieved with other materials
 
The dome’s superior structural design gives it many advantages. Using proprietary variations of geodesic geometry, CST Covers’ domes are noted for their ability to meet exacting live load requirements by providing greater stiffness and strength, pound- for-pound, than any other dome geometry system.
CST Covers domes have been designed for snow loads of up to 165 pounds per square foot and windloads of up to 150mph. The company’s unique panel design is specifically engineered to support loads of up to 500 pounds on any one square foot. CST Covers can design domes up to 1,000 feet in diameter.
CST Covers aluminium domes for bulk storage are custom designed around a bulk facility’s specific clearance requirements, basin configuration and bulk handling equipment. Structurally efficient and lightweight, they maximize bulk storage capacity, minimize foundation costs and provide dependable protection form the elements while remaining virtually maintenance free.
CST Covers was created by combining two globally renowned aluminium cover companies,Temcor and Conservatek Industries. CST Covers designs, manufactures and builds custom aluminium covers and structures for architectural, environmental and industrial applications. CST Covers has supplied over 16,000 covers in more than 90 different countries and offers multiple structural, high strength aluminium design solutions including domes, vaults, extruded flat covers, formed plank covers, truss supported covers, space frames as well as custom products specifically designed for customers unique vertical and overhead applications.
The company maintains operations in Gardena, Calif., Conroe, Tex., and Rincon, Ga.The company is headquartered out of the Conroe,Tex. location.


VIBRAFLOOR reclaiming system: active reclaim of dry bulk product
Silexport International of France manufactures a unique bulk reclaiming system, the active floor VIBRAFLOOR.
Initially designed to clean grain silos, active floors are being adopted in a variety of industries handling bulk products, such as sugar plants, refineries, cement plants, feed meals, biomass operators, shipping companies and so forth. A VIBRAFLOOR is the assembly of independent vibrating modules, typically 2.2m wide, 3m to 4m long and 45mm thick. Each module is powered by an electric vibrator, ATEX certified, 400 to 700W.
Laid on slightly inclined floors, typically 8 to 12°, modules will entirely clean residual slopes of bulk products, out of silos, ships, railway cars, containers and so forth. As a modular concept, there is no limitation of either size or shape of a VIBRAFLOOR.
Most bulk products, granular or powdery, free flowing or cohesive, can be efficiently handled by an active floor. VIBRAFLOOR is now used on all types of cereals, including soya beans, paddy rice, but also soyabean meal, fish feed, sugar, flour, fly ash, sulphur, saw dust, wood chips, wood pellets, serox and more.
VIBRAFLOOR first came to market in the grain industry. Grain operators and farm co-operatives value the unsurpassed efficiency and ease of operating active floors. One hundred percent clean-up, no maintenance, negligible power intake and total safety are major comparative advantages of the technology.
Recent references in the grain industry include 28m-diameter wheat silos in the harbour of Sebastopol, with an unloading capacity of 800tph (tonnes per hour). A 30,000-tonne barley silo was commissioned last year in the harbour of Antwerp. Several grain silos are equipped each year in France, for farm co-ops,
diester (biodiesel) plants, and feed meal plants. When required, self-cleaning triangular aeration ducts are
interposed between spans of modules. Five self-unloading vessels are in operation, for the transport
of crystal sugar, flour and fish feed. A contract has recently been awarded by a Chilean operator, to unload wood chips barges at a rate of 2,000m3/h.
An active floor was recently been fitted inside a new 14m- diameter silo in a German sugar plant. The lay-out is ‘conical’, with trapezoidal modules reclaiming the residual cone of sugar towards a central opening.
With its core business in the grain industry, the company is progressively expanding its market in other industries. One very promising industry is biomass, where VIBRAFLOOR is positioned for large harbour wood chips receiving platforms, and self- unloading woodchip bulk carriers. The active floor is also very attractive to wood pellets operators, as the vibrating action gently carries pellets without noticeable breakage.
Another line of development is the stockpile reclaiming of coal and minerals. As gravity does not allow for more than a few percent to be reclaimed, heavy-duty vibrating modules laid around the reclaim openings can dramatically increase the initial flow.
Development in any sector of the industry can only be undertaken with the support of enlightened operators. The risk for such operators has been minimized over the years, with the experience accumulated by a highly competent and motivated staff, very much client-oriented, dedicated to success, come what may.