Companies continue to bemoan the fact that ineffective control of dust and insects, coupled with variances in temperature, result in hygiene, and health and safety compliance problems.

With large volumes of pedestrian and vehicular traffic food manufacturing facilities as well as retail stores, the associated ingress of unwanted elements is a given.

Wim Dessing, managing director of Apex Strip Curtains & Doors, says that high quality strip curtains offer an affordable and viable solution for a number of applications.

“Our Balledge® PVC strip curtains are equally at home in the food, pharmaceutical and heavy engineering industries as effective control mechanisms against various foreign elements,” Dessing says.

Apex Strip Curtains are transparent allowing unimpaired visibility which eliminates accidental collisions between pedestrians and vehicles, yet at the same time the specially formulated PVC is durable for extended longevity.

Six specific elements are controlled by using Apex Strip Curtains: humidity; noise; temperature; hygiene; dust; insects; health and safety.

In highly sensitive environments such as pharmaceutical or printing, control of the level of humidity is critical to ensure a high quality level of finished product.

Noisy machinery, especially in the printing and engineering environments, can be effectively enclosed with PVC strip curtains without obstructing the operator and hindering production. “Tests have, in fact, shown that noise levels can be reduced over a range from 7 to 15 decibels to improve working conditions,” Dessing says.

In food processing and handling facilities such as the dairy industry, keeping temperature at specific optimum levels can mean the difference between an acceptable product and one which has to be rejected due to spoiling. “Temperature control is crucial to the quality of valuable perishable cargoes destined for either export or domestic use,” Dessing adds.

“In addition, it’s important to ensure hygiene in such facilities and Apex Strip Curtains have been found to contribute towards attaining acceptably high levels of hygiene,” Dessing says.

Temperature control is equally important in a number of instances including food preparation and storage, cold storage and freezer areas as well as in refrigerated trucks. Apex Strip Curtains have a patented reinforced edge, referred to as the Balledge®, which ensures an overlapping secure seal whereby cold air is kept in and warm air is kept out to ensure maximum thermal control,” Dessing says.

In pharmaceutical and chemical plants PVC strip curtains are used to ensure dust free and hygienic manufacturing areas. The curtains are also used around pill packaging areas, in powder rooms, mixing rooms and warehouses. “Maintaining a dust free environment is also important in the handling and packaging areas of manufacturing plants where clean surfaces are required to obtain adequate sealing of packaging material,” Dessing says.

In the food processing sector, there is a definite need for strip curtains in wash areas, deboning sections, mixing rooms, vacuum packing facilities, holding and freezer rooms or delivery trucks. “It goes without saying that raw meat products are a big attractant for unwanted insects. Fortunately, the Apex Strip Curtains are able to control the presence of insects to ensure absolute hygiene,” Dessing says.

Open areas at dust filtration and extraction units can be enclosed using PVC strips and other applications are found in mine hostels, kitchens, food preparation areas and workshops.

“Apex Strip Curtains are locally manufactured in a quality controlled environment to customer specifications and measurements. In this way we guarantee complete customer satisfaction in a cost effective manner,” Dessing concludes.