Northern Ireland based ConveyorTek Ltd has received the prestigious 2017 Materials Handling Engineers Association (MHEA) ‘Innovation Excellence Award’ for its newly launched conveyor metal detector. The Company, which designs and manufactures bespoke conveyor solutions and metal separation technologies, was among five winners at the awards function in Eastwood Hall hotel in Nottingham. The awards ceremony took place as part of the annual BulkEx technical conference and exhibition on 18 and 19 October.
ConveyorTek won the Innovation Award for its high-performance conveyor metal detector that can self-calibrate and, uniquely, can ignore steel cable belts and rip detection systems, while still detecting rogue metal pieces.
According to ConveyorTek, it has been many years since a new conveyor metal detector has appeared on the UK market that has been truly innovative in its electrical technology, programming and housing materials.
Working with an expanding team of in-house and external specialists, this product has been developed over the last two years and has recently launched into the market. The product is completely manufactured at the Company’s facilities in Northern Ireland.
The metal detector uses a ‘pulse induction technology’ which is generated by creating a pulsing magnetic field with a series of sealed sense coils and excitation coils. The housing has been designed with a very innovative assembly procedure allowing customers to install the detector in under 40 minutes. It comprises of adjustable sensitivity; engineering and performance diagnostics; a series of extra alarm options and notifications; and is arguably the most robust metal detector in the UK bulk handling market.
From the initial design concept to a series of working prototypes, the metal detector is now delivering excellent performance results and the company is currently beginning to establish a global distribution network for its sales representation. Indeed, the Company has just secured its first large order with one of the industry’s leading quarrying applications for a 2000mm wide system that will be installed in November of this year.
Philip Trimble, Managing Director of ConveyorTek had this to say: “We believe that the competitive price, fast assembly procedure, extremely robust frame and high detection capabilities will, in time, make this metal detector the new industry benchmark”.
The MHEA, which works to support the interests of companies supplying and using bulk handling equipment around the world, explained that “the awards were conceived to recognise and reward the talent and creativity of the association’s members and the world-class capabilities of its member companies”.
Michael Kaye, outgoing President of the MHEA, said: “Once again, the MHEA Excellence Awards dinner was a huge success and provided us with a platform to highlight some of the fantastic achievements in bulk materials handling. The judges were very impressed with the standard of the entries – our congratulations go to all the winners”.
Receiving the award at the sold-out evening function of BulkEx17, Philip Trimble, MD at ConveyorTek said, “We are delighted to receive such a prestigious industry award from the MHEA. Investment in R&D is at the forefront of our Company and I am pleased to accept the award on behalf of our team. We are continuing to work on new, innovative products for the conveying industry and have more exciting projects in the pipeline”.
Last year’s winner of the Innovation Award was industry giant Siemens, which goes some way in demonstrating the calibre of nominees in the category.
The ConveyorTek award comes close on the heels of the Company’s rebrand which now includes the tagline “technical excellence”, the main attribute that ConveyorTek believes sets it apart from its competitors.
