World-leading manufacturer of low-friction, low-wear bearing materials Vesconite Bearings has branched out to supply wear-resistant, floor-friendly castor wheels for trolleys and pallet jacks in the abattoir and other food-processing industries.
Vesconite trolley wheels provide a maintenance free product that offers a longer wear life than traditional nylon wheels and can handle high load capacities.
Vesconite sales executive for trolley and castor wheels Monica De Pontes explains that the wheels consist of an outer Vesco Polycap roller with a Vesconite Hilube insert. The Vesconite Hilube insert replaces the conventional metal ball and roller bearings, making the wheels maintenance and corrosion free so they do not rust or seize.
Vesconite also makes custom wheels according to customer specifications.
Vesconite trolley wheels are highly resistant to heat and cold, making them suitable for hot or cold environments, such as fridges and smoker rooms. Vesconite Hilube may be used continuously at 100 °C in dry applications yet operates well at very cold temperatures.
De Pontes reveals that Vesconite has some customers that have been using their trolley wheels in temperatures of -30 °C.
“Traditional wheels have been known to crack after being removed from fridges where they have been standing for long periods. Our customers do not have that problem with Vesconite wheels.
“We also have customers that use our wheels in their smoker rooms, which can reach temperatures of 80 °C. They have also not experienced any problems with Vesconite wheels,” she claims.
Vesconite Bearings develops engineering materials with unique combination of properties specially formulated for challenging bearing applications, including the abattoir industry.
Abattoirs involve several processes through which raw food ingredients are transformed, so any wear parts involved in these processes are required to be hard-wearing, hygienic and resistant to food and cleaning chemicals.
Further, Vesconite’s trolley wheels are floor-friendly since they are unlikely to wear through completely, even if the outer roller is damaged. This is an improvement on traditional wheels, where nylon in disrepair can rip up floors if the nylon tread cracks or wears through.
A customer testimonial from Kroonstad-based wholesale chicken processor CC Chickens explains that their relationship with Vesconite is one born from need.
Often, parts for abattoir machines need to be imported from overseas resulting in a waiting period of three or four months before receipt. This is unsustainable since a machine cannot stand idle for such long periods.
CC Chickens general engineering supervisor Johan Beyl reveals that Vesconite has successfully manufactured specific parts for their machines on several occasions.
“In fact, there is a part that Vesconite is making for CC Chickens now that is very important for our production processes. It is a gear for a polymer chain that feeds the receiving crates into the production system. At that time, the machine was standing idle because there were no parts available in South Africa. I begged Vesconite to make a plan for us. And they did,” he enthuses.