April 12, 2001

Viewing Held for Air Supportive Conveyor

On April 12, the Industrial Machinery, Bridge & Steel Structure Div., Ube Machinery Corporation unveiled its Air Supportive Conveyor at a viewing at its Ube Machinery Works. This conveyor, one of the largest in the world, is capable of transporting 5,000 tons of material per hour.

More than 70 people from approximately 40 companies, including cement companies, general contractors, steel manufacturers, trading companies, and power companies, heard a brief overview of air supportive conveyors from the company, and were then shown two air supportive conveyors in operation at the Coal Center of the Ube Industries Coal Division. These conveyors are capable of handling 1,300 tons per hour and 500 tons per hour, respectively. The attendees were then returned to the company and shown the air supportive conveyor having a capacity of 5,000 tons per hour that is scheduled for delivery this summer. As its name implies, a air supportive conveyor suspends the material on a "belt" of air for transport. Its design offers many advantages. Compared to a conventional belt-type conveyor, the air supportive conveyor creates less noise and no dust. It can also transport high-volume material faster while using less power and installation space. Its uncomplicated design makes it virtually maintenance free. Many of the attendees were impressed by system and many comments such as "much more compact than I had imagined," "extremely quiet," and "no dust" were heard at the viewing.

A similar viewing was held once before, in February. After that viewing, however, many people asked to see the actual unit, and so the number of participants at this viewing was increased dramatically. A survey conducted on the day of the viewing revealed a high level of interest in air supportive conveyors, and it is now expected that this type of conveyance equipment will become mainstream in the future.

The Industrial Machinery, Bridge & Steel Structure Div. offers a line-up of air supportive conveyors that range in performance from 20 tons per hour to 5,000 tons per hour, and is proactively developing its business to further expand its sales of these conveyors.

For more information
   Ube Machinery Corporation, Ltd.
     Seabans North Building 1-2-1 Shibaura Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-6791, Japan
     Attn : Industrial Machinery Sales Dept.
     Phone : +81-3-5419-6293