Flexicon’s bulk material handling systems are designed to address powder clumping, dust and plant layout constraints while maintaining efficiency and sanitation.
The road to manufacturing is not easy.
The food industry frequently encounters bulk solids that resist reliable flow – materials that pack, cake, compress, solidify, rat-hole, or agglomerate during storage, shipment, or processing. Common examples include starch, cake mix, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and various powder blends containing moisture, oil, or fat.
These non-free-flowing ingredients often exhibit high angles of repose, leading to irregular discharge from bulk bags, silos, hoppers, or vessels. This results in inconsistent flow during weigh batching and packaging, reduced productivity, compromised batch accuracy, increased labour demands, and potential quality issues.
Such challenges can undermine even well-designed processes, causing downtime, material waste, and cross-contamination risks in hygiene-critical environments. For specifiers in food processing, selecting bulk handling equipment engineered specifically for these difficult materials is essential to maintain efficiency, product consistency, and regulatory compliance.
Specialised solutions address these issues at every stage – conditioning, discharging, conveying, filling, dumping, and batching.
For every stage
Conditioning solidified materials is a critical first step. Hydraulic bulk bag conditioners use compression to break up caked or compacted contents. Stand-alone units enable programmed, multi-side conditioning at variable heights for thorough loosening. Integrated models combine conditioning and discharging in one machine, saving floor space, reducing costs compared to separate units, and eliminating forklift transfers between steps.
Discharging non-free-flowing materials from bulk bags demands active flow promotion. Advanced dischargers feature devices that stretch the bag top upward and/or the bottom downward as it empties, while timed activators raise and lower opposite bottom sides, progressively forming a steep “V” shape. This forces even stubborn materials – including residues in corners – to discharge completely.
Conveying remains a backbone for moving non-free-flowing materials reliably. Flexible screw conveyors excel here, as the screw is the only moving part contacting the product, driven from above the discharge point to avoid bearing exposure and contamination.
Custom-engineered screw geometries match the material’s flow characteristics to prevent packing, buildup, binding, or seizing. The fully enclosed tube routes easily – vertically, horizontally, or at angles – through confined spaces while preserving blended material integrity without segregation or degradation. The screw’s gentle rolling action ensures smooth, controlled conveying and maintains blend uniformity by preventing separation throughout the conveyor length.
Weigh batching uses these conveyors to deliver high-capacity transfer for productivity along with precise, step-down dribble feeds for accurate dosing. Sanitary models offer tool-free disassembly, USDA acceptance, and 3-A certification (FSANZ and DFSV acceptance), with quick cleaning via reversal, flushing, or component removal.
Flexicon offers the full range of engineered equipment for non-free-flowing bulk solids in contamination-sensitive applications.
Additional equipment extends these capabilities. Sanitary bulk bag fillers feature stainless construction, continuous ground-and-polished welds, and pivoting fill heads for unrestricted access during high-speed filling and thorough sanitation. Drum, box, or container dumpers create dust-tight seals during loading, tipping, and discharging. This prevents fugitive dust while ensuring seamless integration with hoppers or process equipment.
Cleanliness and contamination control
Sanitary design is paramount in food applications. Open-channel stainless steel frames eliminate cavities or recesses where bacteria, mould, or contaminants could harbour, enabling rapid, thorough wash-downs and unobstructed visual inspections. Dust-tight connections between the bag spout’s clean side and downstream equipment further minimise airborne particles and cross-contamination risks.
Many configurations including flow control valves, clamp rings, and telescoping tubes are USDA-accepted (FSANZ-accepted), supporting compliance with stringent food safety standards.
Most equipment can be built from 304 or 316 stainless steel, finished to industry and customer sanitary standards. This includes continuous, smooth, flush welds up to mirror polish. IP66 or IP67 enclosures and motors withstand high-pressure wash-downs with steam or cleaning solutions without damage.
Beyond basic construction, innovative features minimise wash-down time, eliminate cross-contamination during changeovers, prevent plant contamination, and allow fast cleanliness verification. These designs enhance safety and efficiency in food, dairy, and nutraceutical operations.
Material flow enhances safety
Food processing plants, upstream of packaging lines, will use a metal detector that scans the product to identify contaminants. Detection of a contaminant called a “strike” triggers the metal detector to divert a portion of the food product into a collection bag. Workers then inspect the rejected sample to verify that the contaminant has been removed and log the incident into a quality-assurance report.
Bulk handling equipment that enhances material flow consistency also improves the reliability of metal detector strike detection, helping reduce both downtime and material waste.
In an industry where hygiene, consistency, and throughput are non-negotiable, specifying bulk handling equipment tailored to non-free-flowing materials delivers measurable returns: fewer blockages, higher yields, lower labour, and stronger compliance.
By prioritising engineered solutions for conditioning, discharge, conveying, and sanitary integration, food processors can transform challenging ingredients like powder into reliable, efficient production streams.
