20/04/2005

Silo manufacturer Braby announces Irish partnership

Braby, manufacturers of silos, tanks and vessels has expanded its product offering with a new mutually beneficial partnership with Silotank – the Belfast based designer and manufacturer of thermoplastic, dual laminate and GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) tanks, scrubbing systems and providers of turn key odour abatement and chemical scrubbing systems. This latest move is in line with Braby’s strategy to explore new areas of business that compliment its own expertise of stainless steel and aluminium tanks, silos and vessels.

Silotank manufactures both bespoke and standard bulk solutions to a capacity of 200m³. They work particularly closely with manufacturers who have niche requirements such as hazardous chemical storage, saturated brine production and the removal of noxious emissions from the atmosphere. In partnering with Braby, Silotank’s capacity has widened to stainless steel and aluminium and also increased to 1000m³.

The Belfast based company has recently invested heavily in its manufacturing processes. It is the first company in the UK and Ireland to manufacture GRP and dual laminate tanks using an advanced 3 axis helical winding machine. The process involves winding the shell to the base of the tank resulting in an overcompensated shell to base knuckle joint. The winding process is CNC controlled producing extreme accuracy in fibre placement so producing repeatable quality every time.

A butt welding machine is also used to manufacture large capacity straight thermoplastic tanks. The welds on sheet fabricated vessels are the weakest point on the tank. However, a butt weld is approximately 110% of the sheet strength which not only removes this uncertainty but has also allowed Silotank to increase the size of their straight thermoplastic vessels. By putting it in a dust free area Silotank can also manufacture vessels for high purity water.
Paul Mayer, Sales Director at Braby commented “the partnership is a strategic development for Braby and allows us to provide additional services for our clients, whilst utilising our own delivery and installation services to offer the complete turnkey solution. For Silotank, this partnership allows them to assert their presence in the UK market and launch a broadened product range to the Irish market, which now includes aluminium and stainless steel vessels.”