Turbex Limited

Aluminium anodising facility, BCW Treatments opened back in 2015 to provide a full service to companies using the subcontract machining services of BCW Manufacturing Group's machine shops on the same industrial estate as it. Anodising is carried out in a Galvatek automated finishing line supplied by Turbex, which was deemed to be the best all-round package of three alternatives considered. Currently, an average of 2,600 square metres of product per week are finished across more than 240 part lines.

A Turbex aqueous cleaning machine has been installed in one of the world’s largest paper making machinery manufacturers, to remove grease and oil from more than 30 different components during refurbishment. The machine is also assisting renovation of selected parts from rolling mills, which accounts for 25% of turnover.

This year’s biennial Surface World Live show, which was held in March at the Birmingham NEC has been described as the best show since 2009. John Huntingdon, Managing Director of Turbex, who appeared at the show said the show went well and agreed it had been the best in while, in terms of the number of high quality sales leads generated.

Banning the use of hexavalent chromium for surface treatment of components will have effect from September 2017, thanks to the European Union’s REACH regulation. Exemptions may be granted only in exceptional cases, such as military aviation applications. Less toxic aluminium surface treatment processes have been developed to replace the use of chrome, such as TSA (tartaric sulphuric acid) and PSA (phosphoric sulphuric acid).

Surface treatment lines from Galvatek including ones such as anodising and chemical cleaning are sold in the UK by Turbex. This year Galvatek’s equipment will be highlighted at the Surface World Live show, as the manufacturer has designed, delivered, installed and continues to service more than 600 turnkey installations in over 35 countries.

At the Poole factory of Thompson Valves Ltd has been replaced by a batch cleaning machine that is proving much more versatile in operation. Called Elba, the aqueous machine is supplied in the UK by Turbex. The superseded washing, rinsing and drying line, which was also water-based, processed components on a continuous belt and did not have the ability to rotate the parts. As a result, there was a risk of water being retained within the valve bodies and other components, causing staining and also oxidation while they were in storage. Other problems of the older system were its large footprint and difficulty in obtaining spares.