Furnishing North America and the World with Conveyor Belts

Being that we’re already a transnational company with offices both in Ontario and Upstate New York, it shouldn't come as any surprise that Furnace Belt does a fair share of its business internationally. A good 10% of our total annual revenue on average comes not only from neighboring North American countries like Mexico, but also nations farther afield: places like Australia, South Africa, Turkey, and throughout the Middle East. All of these countries have sizable food processing and manufacturing industries (indeed some of them gargantuan), and all of them require conveyor belt meshes that let their production processes run smoothly and competitively. Since North America has a long legacy of providing quality industrial products, it only makes sense that other nations would reach out to places like Furnace Belt to furbish their production lines with the best technology money can buy.

For instance, Australia and South Africa have an abundance of mines dispersed across their territory. Australian copper and South African diamonds are, after all, practically household names in the global market. That being said, these countries rely upon a constant supply of industrial conveyor belts to extract the riches from beneath their soil. World-famous conglomerates in both of these countries would never be what they are without the necessary means of extraction engineering.

That’s what we’re here to do at Furnace Belt. As part of the North American manufacturing network that runs roughly from Chicago to north of Toronto, we make it our business to insure that other developing countries get the equipment they need to continue to grow their nascent economies. Global prosperity is a prospect we champion and relish the thought of. If you’re a customer in another country who wants durable, precision conveyor belt meshing for any type of industry, we’re always ready to hear from you via email or telephone. Let us know today!

The Promising Future of Indian Food Processing

Furnace Belt is considered a world leader in the manufacture of woven metal conveyor belting, so it should come as no surprise that we are quite interested and involved in the burgeoning Indian food processing industry. Over the past few years, the Indian food processing industry has taken off like a rocket, which in turn has created a nearly insatiable demand for cutting edge technology and machinery.  

According to a report from the influential Technology Exports Development Organization (TEDO), the Government of India has given commercializing agriculture and developing food processing high priority in developing India’s economy. Unfortunately, the report also points out that the agro-food processing equipment sector is lagging behind other developed countries. This technological discrepancy stymies the food processing industry, since modern equipment like the conveyor belts we make at Furnace Belt aren’t available for small to mid-sized Indian companies.

The products we make at Furnace Belt allow for produce and meats to reach the market place with consistent level of quality, as well as being free of potentially hazardous bacteria.  The only way to truly grow the industry is to methodically upgrade the equipment and infrastructure so that the people of India trust that their food supply is wholesome and without blemish. The government has set a goal to triple the size of the industry by 2014-15. An Indian academic, V Gokul Das, MD summarizes as such: “Future prospects for the industry are pretty bright. It is a growing sector as there is mass movement from villages to cities and there are new products that are being launched for the food and beverage sector.”

For everyone at Furnace Belt this is an exciting time. We look forward to introducing even more of our conveyor belting to India’s new and seismically growing food and beverage processing industry. 

Ontario Food Cluster and the IFPT

Stretching from Toronto to Buffalo, NY, the so-called “Ontario Food Cluster” is a thriving agglomeration of some 3,200 food and beverage companies. Together they comprise Canada’s largest pool of agri-food talent, and the 2^nd largest in North America. With an innovative research climate and easy access to the global market, the Ontario Food Cluster has drawn some of the biggest names in the food industry. These companies have an estimated annual manufacturing revenue of $34 billion and employ 130,000 people directly in agri-food processing/manufacturing and wholesaling, along with another 483,000 workers in related sectors.

It is kind of hard to imagine the Ontario Food Cluster getting any more, but it just did. Recently the Cluster’s economic development executives attended the influential SIAL Brazil 2012 show to promote the new Conestoga College Institute of Food Processing Technology (IFPT). This innovative school was created in 2009 in partnership with the Alliance of Ontario Food Processors (AOFP) to allow for the development of a highly skilled workforce by providing education and training programs that meet the needs of the food and beverage industry. IFPT focuses on areas like food safety, food processing techniques, electronic instrumentation techniques, automation, robotics, packaging, and plant supervision. It is the perfect environment in which to learn the ins and outs of almost every aspect of the food and beverage manufacturing field. 

At Furnace Belt we find it especially good news that another generation is getting trained properly and effectively in the food processing and safety industry. Our belts are widely used throughout the companies in the “Food Cluster” and nothing is better than working hand in hand with fellow experts. If you want to learn more about IFPT you can visit their website

Belt Maintenance Is Your Friend!

When you buy a car, the dealership will let you know that you should come in for a check-up after a certain number of miles. While they totally believe in the quality of their product, they also know from experience that things need to be checked now and again to avoid major problems from forming.  The same goes for your conveyor belt. Nothing is worse than having a belt break in the middle of an important order. The lost time, money, and production will drive anyone to frustration (if not out of business). Though there is no magic bullet that lets you avoid mishaps completely, there is one way to limit them. At Furnace Belt, we believe that if you are consistent in performing belt maintenance through regular inspections and audits, your belts will last longer and run smoother. With that in mind, we put together the top five things to consider when doing belt maintenance:

1. Make sure your belt was made for your exact specifications. Don’t overshoot and try to get something too heavy for your needs. Belts have specific loading capacities and they must be respected.

2. Choose the proper alloy for the temperatures or application. For example, if you’re running at 2,000 degrees, you would use 314 stainless steel in building your belt; as opposed to using more standard galvanized steel. You can always ask one of our experts for help in finding the perfect belt for the appropriate temperature.

3. Keep up on the maintenance of the furnace itself. If your furnace is not running at the correct temperature, it will not only affect belt life, but your product quality as well.

4. Flip the belt from time to time. Give one side a rest in favor of the other. It’s a process that’s a little like rotating your crops in a field to insure overall health

5. Make sure that everything’s running true and straight.  Otherwise, your belt might be torn and if you process food that could mean disaster.

If you follow these steps, we believe you can not only maintain the life of your belt, but also ensure the safety of your workers and save money all at the same time.

Food Processing Meshes Are Some of Our Absolute Specialties

Few industries in this world are as continuously non-stop as food processing. Commanding literally trillions of dollars in global sales and profits, and with an ever-increasing number of people across the planet developing hearty appetites for processed foods, we frankly see no end in sight as far as the need for food processing and packaging companies to expand their productive capacity. As with any industry that performs ceaseless high-volume runs, the food processing industry – whether it’s food or drink, meat or starch – requires trackless miles of conveyor belts to keep up with the growing demand.

At Furnace Belt, we offer many different meshes and possible materials for food processing conveyor belts. Whether you are in the abattoir industry and need extra yardage for your meat or poultry products, or whether you’re in the beverage business and need extra meshing to handle a new line of juice, beer, or soft drink, at Furnace Belt, we offer the right fit for a reasonable price. For more information about how we can help your business expand its production capacity and for which type of mesh would best suit the needs of your line of work, please browse our website, or contact us at 1-800-354-7213.

Our Cold-Resistant Meshes: the Perfect Match for the Flash Freeze Industry

Essentially, flash freezing is a technique that’s used in a variety of packaged foods – anything from fresh meat, to fresh fruit, to frozen dinners. The process involved is easily explained: by freezing packaged foods at temperatures well below zero, and by doing so quickly, one can virtually eliminate any trace of ice crystals or bits of frost that might otherwise interfere with the flavor (and even sanitation) of the food being frozen. The reason that there’s no frost involved is due to the speed at which a flash frozen package gets chilled: the process is so rapid that any residue water never has a chance to congeal within the package. In a global market where people in either hemisphere want instant access to the same seasonal produce year-round, the benefits of the technique are self-evident in the huge profits tallied each year by the industry.

Since flash freezing requires mass production (and  thereby recommends itself to conveyor belts), there’s a need to be sure that the type of conveyor belt mesh you use can withstand the extreme cold temperatures involved in the process. That’s where our Furnace Belt meshes come into play. While our 304 stainless steel and carbon steel meshes are best known for standing up to intense heat, the same goes for their operability in harsh, sub-zero conditions. Our meshes won’t tarnish, fray, or break under the conditions to which they’re exposed to: they’ll just keep on keeping on, making sure that the flash freezing process is seamless, and production flow remains at a constant.

Powdered Metals: a Time-Honored Industry with a Long Future Ahead

The time-honored technique of powder metallurgy has been around in one form or another since as far back as 3000 B.C. in ancient Egypt, and has been widely in service since the late 19^th century when mass producing low-cost, high-endurance parts, pieces, and components. You’ll find powdered metal used in any number of applications and industries: automotive, defense, medical, and maritime, to name a few. By intensively heating a powdered metal – or a corresponding powdered alloy – up to its near melting point, you can do away with many needless complexities as far as assembly and sub-assembly; you can shape the metal to the dimensions roughly desired in the final, finished part. Beyond this acknowledged flexibility, the powdering process leaves a good finish upon cooling, is well-proven to be cost effective in comparison with other types of metallurgy, and is ideal for high-volume production runs.

Since conveyor belt technology is equally suited for high-volume production runs, it only stands to reason that our Furnace Belt meshes are used commonly by the powdered metal industry. With a variety of flat, tightly-woven conveyor meshes with high, built-in heat-resistance, our conveyor belts are ideal for mass producing powdered metal parts as needed. With cost-cutting an ever-growing concern in the fabrication of metal parts, we can only anticipate that this longstanding metallurgical process has a long and profitable future ahead of itself. We know that our signature 304 stainless steel, high carbon steel, and low carbon galvanized steel meshes will leave other conveyor belts behind in their tracks.

Aluminum Recycling with Gratex

Aluminum production is an involved, labor-intensive process, primarily due to the fact that aluminum itself is never to be found “on its own,” but rather as part of a compound of various other elements, the most frequent of them being oxygen and silicon (“bauxite”). In order to refine aluminum into a usable state, one must first mix it with sodium hydroxide to eliminate all extraneous impurities. Then, one must mix the aluminum extract with cryolite (sodium fluoride and aluminum fluoride) and heat the admixture to a temperature of almost 1000 degrees Celsius. Being that aluminum is a critical mainstay of modern industry, one that has applications ranging from shipbuilding to Budweiser cans, and being that it isn’t a metal that (unlike, say, iron) is subject to corrosion, it is small wonder that such a vast industry has sprouted around the recycling and reprocessing of old aluminum for new operations.

Recycling aluminum is a very effective means both of reducing industrial waste and cutting labor costs, since it is much less painstaking process than actual bauxite extraction. That being said, the process doesn’t come without its price-tag. One must still have the means of heating old beer cans (and the like) to such a degree that they can return to a pure liquid state. Furthermore, one must have a streamlined means of conveyance of these recyclables, since in order to reconstitute significant amounts of aluminum for new usage; one must recycle a huge number of cans, plate metal, bars, etc.

This is where Furnace Belt’s Gratex conveyor belts come into play. Since our Gratex belts are built to sustain high heat exposure while still carrying minute, individual components, they are an ideal choice for aluminum recycling. In fact, we have several customers throughout the States who can attest to the quality of our Gratex conveyor belts in aiding them with their recycling operations.

Rod Reinforcement Weave: for When the Conveyance Gets Tough

One of our customers at Furnace Belt runs a business that – in part – involves the manufacturing of air brakes for semi-trucks. Beyond that critical component of what they do, they also are in the business of shredding old rubber tires, recycling the heated, re-treated rubber for any number of uses. Needless to say, the business of shredding tires and melting them down into other applications is a terrifically heat-intensive process. In order for such a process to be conducted in an orderly, automated fashion, conveyor belt mesh is needed that will be extremely resistant to searing levels of temperature, as well as providing a durable, tensile means of holding down the parts as they become recycled.

To that end, rod reinforcement mesh weaves allow for companies like our own client to incorporate industrial-strength heat resistance into the material that forms their conveyor lines. Designed by using single directional spirals (much like those in a chain-link fence, though usually more tightly interwoven), each “line” of mesh is then reinforced by a single rod that runs through its entire width. This rod gives the mesh an ability to bear considerable loads, in addition to insuring that the mesh material doesn’t expand beyond usefulness during the extreme heating process. Perfect for any number of high temperature industrial applications, the rod-reinforced weaves we make at Furnace Belt continue to supply American manufacturing with a sturdy, efficient means to an end.

Compound Balanced Weaves: Ideal for Smaller Components

In the case of an industrial process like the metal working of small components, a lot of hard work and man-hours can go to waste if the right conveyor belt isn’t used. Think of the size of many of the nuts, bolts, and screws that go into assembling whatever application you ultimately intend. Think of the dimensions that each of these applications takes up – oftentimes close to nothing, right? To insure this problem of “component leakage” never occurs, we fortunately have the compound balanced weave.

Named so on account of its compactness, these particular types of balanced weaves consist of a seamless, ”compounded” series of left-hand and right-hand spirals. Generally fabricated from much the same materials as are common balanced weaves, these meshes have an interlocked firmness to them that is a distant cousin of medieval chain mail. The sheer accumulation of mesh-links allows for the mesh belt to sustain considerably heavier loads than can the lighter, more interspersed “common” balanced weave. At Furnace Belt, our own compound balanced weaves can be built to endure a hefty 8.14 lb/ft², making them ideal for bearing small metal components of considerable mass.

A Little about the Work We Do with Balanced Weaves

One of the driving-force mainstays behind American food processing is the balanced weave conveyor belt. The weave’s superior tensile strength allows whatever is placed upon it to remain firmly in place, without getting stuck or otherwise disturbed in the conveyance. Furthermore, the material from which it is made (most usually high carbon steel, galvanized materials, 304 stainless steel, 314 stainless steel, or 316 stainless steel) has an incredibly high heat resistance. Finally, the sheer diversity of its possible mesh designs allows it to comport with any number of different sized and shaped items on its total surface. The most common mesh of conveyor belt in the world, it is ideal for use in baking, food transfer, food packaging, as well as usable in glass-work, ceramic firing, and metal fabrication.

At Furnace Belt, we have made it our business to manufacture and sell balanced weave furnace belts for many years now. Being one of our staple products, we offer balanced weaves in a considerable number of varieties, weights, cross sections, wire gauges, and wire diameters. For more about our handiwork, come and check out our website page devoted exclusively to balanced weave furnace belts.