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INTENSIVE WORKING by Articulated Tankers

14th March 1958, Page 108
14th March 1958
Page 108
Page 109
Page 110
Page 108, 14th March 1958 — INTENSIVE WORKING by Articulated Tankers
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How Bristol Sugar Refiners Provide Bulk-liquid Services to Brewers Throughout England and Wales : Careful Selection of Tanker Drivers By F. G. Clark,

A.M.Inst.T. SOME of the larger breweries in this country are now accepting bulk loads of brewing sugar by

tanker.. It is a tricky, sticky and potentialiy temperamental load, but Duttson and Knight, Ltd., refiners. Bristol, have shown that the problems of transporting it by tanker can be overcome.

This concern are approaching their centenary in this highly . competitive trade. Although they are supplying an increasing quantity of sugar products to the confectionery and food industries, the mainstay of their business is the manufacture of brewing sugars. They were among the first to embark upon the operation of tank 'vehicles for carrying these products in liquid form, and they have acquired a fund of specialized knowledge on all aspects of loading, unloading, measuring and storage.

Careful Balance Make-up of theC-licence fleet has been carefully balanced against the needs of the trade. A noteworthy feature is that all the vehicles, both tankers and platform lorries, are articulated outfits, the two makes represented being Scammell and Leyland_ Eight Scammell motive units, powered by Gardner 6LW engines are employed for heavy deliveries, and in the 10-ton range four Leyland Comet tractors (two forward and two semiforward control) are in service. Five Scammell frameless-tank semi-trailers and nine Scammell platform semia34 trailers complete the fleet. In ad ition, contract vehicles are regularly employed for deliveries to the London area. The company's tanker delivery system covers England and Wales, and will shortly be extended to Scotland.

On bulk-transport work the Comets haul tank trailers of either 1,200 or 1,600 gallons capacity (8 tons or 10 tons). The larger tanks hauled by the Scammells are of 2,200-2,450 gallons capacity (13-15 tons). Gallonages are quoted as a matter of interest. These heavy, viscous products are sold by weight, and the payload expressed in tons is of more practical concern.

Thompson Bros. (Bilston), Ltd., made the tanks, which are of normal welded mild-steel construction lined with Epikote. The tanks have a 11-in. layer of Rocksil. insulation covered by aluminium sheathing. As an experi

rnent, the first tanker was equipped with internal steam-heating coils, but the insulation proved so effective in maintaining temperature that it was decided to dispense with providing for internal heating on the later vehicles.

Several points of interest emerged when Mr. H. C. Dye, chairman, discussed.the thinking behind the" articulated vehicles only" policy with me. When the company determined to start their own delive'ry service with pfatform vehicles over 10 years ago, it was

the manceuvrability of the " artic " which made the greatest appeal because of the difficulty of access to some brewery premises. It was foreseen that the flexibility and payload capacity of the articulated combination would be valuable, but it required actual operating experience to underline how valuable these factors were.

The articulated tanker was a natural choice when the company began bulktransport work. The ability to switch motive units from tanks to platform trailers, or vice versa, according to the patterns of demand became of prime importance.

No Excess Transport

"We feel that the use of the articulated vehicle has enabled us to steer clear of one of the main pitfalls for the C-licensed operator—the overprovision of transport facilities," said Mr. Dye. He quoted figures of the costs which would have to be borne if one of his company's vehicles were allowed to stand idle for a day; for one of the big Scammell outfits the normal standing charges plus driver's wages was £7 2s. 6d., and for a Comet and semi-trailer, £6 3s.

The purchasing policy has been to avoid over-equipment, and, because prompt attention to customers' demands is imperative, intensive working is necessary. This is obtained by the use of high-grade vehicles backed by sound operational and maintenance organization.

Three main types of brewing sugar are being supplied by the road tankers. These products — caramel, invert sugars, and priming sugar—are all ,produced from raw cane sugar, and each has its special function in the brewing process. Caramel is supplied to colour, and to give character, fullness and sweetness to ales and stouts.

Standard Composition

Invert sugars are recognized brewing ingredients, and their important quality in the brewer's eyes is that they are of standard composition. Priming sugar is added before racking or bottling to improve condition, palatability and—an important beer sales point—head retention.

All the established advantages of bulk transport apply with special force to this traffic. Carriage of brewing sugar by road tanker 'reduces handling charges and eliminates packaging costs, enabling the company to quote 1 o w er prices for consignments delivered by this means. Cleanliness is another factor in favour of the tanker, as is the fact that discharge at the customer's premises is a one-man job.

After a certain amount of initial experiment, techniques have been evolved for the bulk road transport of liquefied brewing sugars. At the refinery, the products are loaded by gravity into the tanks at a temperature of 140° F., except for caramel which requires special handling. Both singlecompartment and double-compartment tanks are used.

It is necessary to maintain the temperature of the load within a fairly close range while it is on the road. Too severe a change could affect the composition of the product being carried or make delivery more difficult. The most drastic test of tank insulation on a vehicle occurred when a tanker, on a winter run over snowand ice bound roads, took 24 hours for a journey from Bristol to Burton-on-Trent. Even so, the drop in the internal temperature of the tank was no more than 8' F.

Discharge at the brewery cannot begin until the driver has satisfied himself, by reference to the brewer or stores foreman, that the intake pipe has been steamed out since the previous load was accepted. Only .then will the tanker be connected up and pumping operations begin; a 15-ton load can be discharged in 45 minutes.

All the tanks are fitted with Stothert and Pitt reversible-flow 3-in. or 4-in. pumps driven by a power take-off . from the motive unit's engine. Reversible-flow pumps are specified because, when the tank has been emptied, there is a certain amount of sugar in the intake pipe which cannot be raised to the level of the storage tarik inlet. This material is then pumped back into the tank, and on return to the refinery is drained out for re-processing.

As in all bulk-handling systems, special reception facilities have to be provided. Duttson and Knight have co-operated with a number of important -breweries in the design, layout and equipment of reception installations ql_various kinds, and they have a great deal of practical information on the subject. The temperature of the sugar in the storage tanks must be maintained at between 98° F. and 110° F., and the most favoured method is to have individually lagged tanks with thermostatically controlled electric heating elements embedded in the lagging.

Space is at a premium in many breweries, a fact which has brought to light another virtue of bulk handling. Expressing the volume of liquid sugar which can be contained as a percentage of the total cubic capacity of the storage chamber, the type of large tank referred to above occupies only 4 per cent, of the available space compared with about half by the use of 2-cwt. casks.

The proportions of lyrewing4sugars used in the brew have a decisive effect on the colour, flavour and condition of the final product, and the overriding aim of the manufacturer of brewing sugars is to secure absolute uniformity of quality. At the Duttson and Knight works strict laboratory control is exercised over the refining processes, and laboratory samples of each production batch are retained for refer

ence. Precision in manufacture is matched by care in transport.

Between each bulk delivery the tanks are thoroughly cleaned out to prevent any possibility of the next loads being adulterated by residues of a different grade of sugar. Pumps are flushed through and the tank interiors manually cleaned with hot water. There is an equal insistence upon external cleanliness,and the tank vehicles, which are finished in a smart green livery with lettering in gold, are washed down at least once a week.

Mr. H. W. Knight, a director, laid stress on the need for careful selection of tanker drivers. Quite apart from the fact that the vehicle itself is an expensive piece of equipment and the load a valuable One, the driver has certain responsibilities in connection with discharge at the customer's premises. He is regarded as an ambassador of the company, and to inculcate a sense of personal responsibility, the one-driver, one-vehicle system is followed.

As the trend in the brewing industry is still towards fewer and larger producing units, Mr. Knight felt it was reasonable to forecast a growth in the bulk transport of his company's products. A major brewery uses brewing sugars on a scale that makes regular large deliveries necessary in any event, and it may be presumed to have the capital resources to install the relatively expensive special storage facilities for the sake of the long-term economies to be achieved by the bulk-transport method.

Nevertheless, Duttson and Knight do not foresee that bulk deliveries can ever entirely displace conventional packaging methods in their trade. For delivering smaller consignments, cartons, casks or drums are used, according to the normal storage conditions at the premises of .customers. Cartons are a modern method of delivery of invert sugars in _solid form. Rows of -cartons, with a special waxed lining, are placed on end, and the liquid invert sugar is poured into them. It is then Left to solidify gradually in a temperatureand humidity-controlled room before the carton is sealed.

Delivery of packaged goods is a job for the platform vehicles, and these are also employed on the haulage of the refinery's own raw material. When a large consignment of raw cane sugar has to be moved from Avonmouth docks to the refinery, Comets are 'worked with -three semi-trailers each on a shuttle service.

All the fleet is now housed in a new garage which theconcern have opened in Jacob Street, Bristol, within easy.

reach of the refinery. Features of these premises are the two well lighted inspection pits and the large washing area. The Weaver Manufacturing and Engineering Co., Ltd., Bedford, supplied all the lubrication equipment, including compressors, grease and oil pumps, reels and guns, as well as designing the installation layout in the lubrication area. Vigzol oils and greases are used exclusively, and on the later articulated tankers Clayton Dewandre 60-point automatic lubrication systems are fitted. These are giving excellent trouble-free service.

Satisfactory f u el consumption figures, having regard to the fact that the respective payloads are 15 tons and 10 tons, are quoted for both the Scammell and Leyland outfits. The Scammells are averaging about 11 m.p.g. and the Leylands about 15 m.p.g.

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Locations: London, Bristol

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