DCS SUCCESS AS STARBANK EXPANDS
Dust Control Systems Ltd has extended and upgraded the dust
extraction plant for leading laminate component manufacturer,
Starbank Panel Products Ltd.
In addition to significantly increasing the performance of
the dust extraction system, the new installation fully meets
the latest ATEX-94/9/EC European Directive for explosive dust.
A family owned and operated concern, based in Newton-le-Willows,
Lancashire, Starbank is a remarkable success story. Formed
in 1976 by Gordon Darbyshire and his wife Kathleen, the company
is operated by their son Philip (Managing Director), daughter
Wendy (Financial Director) and John Roper (Sales Director).
In recent years the company has seen considerable
growth and is now recognised as one of the UK’s major
suppliers of quality laminated components to the office furniture,
education furniture and shopfitting industries.
Since year 2000, Starbank has doubled the size of its workforce
and has increased its workshop manufacturing facility from
10,000 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft.
The dust extaction system is part of a £1million
investment by Starbank that includes the installation of
the latest 700 series BAZ gantry processing centre from Homag.
This sophisticated machine is the largest of its type installed
in the UK with twin beds, twin routers and edgebanding unit
on a gantry system.
 DCS has kept pace with the various phases of expansion by
up-rating the capacity of the dust extraction system to cope
with the increased demand.
Melvyn Bathgate, Sales Manager at DCS
Ltd says: “The
challenge at Starbank Panels has been to cost effectively increase
performance of the system as the workshop expanded and when
new machinery came on line. The problems normally associated
with expanding a dust extraction system have been considerably
reduced as a result of the flexibility of our modular chain
filter system”.
The newly expanded system extracts 15 to 18 tonnes of wood
waste per week from 14 state-of-the-art panel processing machines
in a clean and healthy workshop environment.
The filter system employed is an NFKZ 2000
HJLR, a modular design system, that makes it possible to add
more capacity as it is needed. It is a powerful filter that
is certified according to the ATEX Directive and is fitted
with a unique ‘SUPERBAG’ polyester filter bag.
The system incorporates a drag-chain conveyor that discharges
the wood waste into a hopper to be used as fuel for the waste-to-energy
boiler or for disposal. Two low noise CombiFab fan sets
have been added to the existing fans; all of which now carry
the ATEX certificate.
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