Specialised services

As a specialist in plastic granulate handling, Gheys offers a wide range of modern equipment to meet its customers’ demands, which allows it to respond flexibly delivering products to consignees in the proper format. 

Packaging

Granulate and powder filling and packaging is what Gheys does every day of the week. In most cases, this involves filling octabins, big-bags and packaging 25kg bags. For smaller quantities, a semi-automatic configuration can deliver the product via a funnel to the bagging machine. For larger quantities, Gheys uses fully-automated machines that alternate between the various silos based on their capacity.

There are currently two product packaging lines and a third line will soon follow to continue meeting increasing demand for capacity. 

Bulk material handling

While packaging is one of Gheys's priority fields of operation, bulk material handling plays an equally important role. Given that a large number of plastic granulate manufacturers are not equipped to ship goods in bulk, Gheys also offers a suitable solution for removing goods from their packaging. To get the job done, for example, the company has three automatic bag slitters for slitting open 25kg bags. Due to the current bag slitters' high frequency of use, it will also be investing shortly in an additional bag slitter to meet customer demand, but also to make it possible for the company to engage in new projects. The company is not only able to slit 25kg bags, but also has a wide variety of machines at its disposal that safely discharge products from big bags and octabins. To prevent dust accumulation, the company relies on a dust extractor during the process to avoid contamination and to ensure that the warehouse environment safeguards the health of its employees. 

Hydraulic beds for containers that have an inner liner

Certain manufacturers decide to transport their dry bulk cargo as bulk in containers to customers in Europe. Efficient transport of these products to consignees requires that the product be transferred to a bulk trailer so that safety is guaranteed from point A to point Z. To this end, Gheys purposefully invested in a 6 m high tilt chassis, which allows for the controlled transfer of the product from the container; drawing on the forces of gravity, this device is able to transfer the product directly to the tank truck or silo container for delivery to the customer. Storing filled containers at the container yard is always an option, along with transferring the product to a pneumatic trailer on demand. This is one of the many valuable services Gheys makes available to optimise the rentals costs of bulk storage, while always managing to deliver just in time to the consignee. 

Degassing

With a history of over twenty years of knowledge and experience, Gheys has managed to gain a prominent position in the market in the field of plastic granulate degassing. This process involves the removal of volatile substances from the granulate by means of conditioned air, ranging from 20°C to 125°C over a period of several days. Through continuous innovation and the use of cutting-edge technology, this service provides significant added value to the product. This added value comes in the form of customer success in new markets, ultimately leading to shared growth and a true win-win situation. 

Drying

If the plastic granulate has become damp or even wet as a result of unforeseen circumstances, Gheys is able to provide a solution to this issue. It has a wide range of insulated drying hoppers in which hot air is pressed through the granulate so that the end product comes out fully dried. In the company’s laboratory, equipment for measuring moisture levels is also present, making it possible to determine when the desired end result has been achieved. After monitoring and, where necessary, adjusting the drying process, Gheys supplies the customer with the measurement data it requires to be sure that the product is usable. 

Dedusting

Gheys has specially equipped dedusting systems where dust can be separated from granulate. Compressed air is cycled through the separator and the lighter dust passes through a filter where it accumulates in a container at the bottom. The separation process leads to a significantly cleaner product that can be used for a number of different applications. 

Sieving

Due to unforeseen circumstances, contamination may occur during or after the granulate production process; however, it is possible to separate foreign matter or agglomerated products that are larger or smaller than the plastic granule by using vibrating sieves. These vibrating sieves are specially designed for processing large quantities and are available in various mesh sizes. This makes it possible to arrive at a guaranteed pure end product, delivered to the customer in the desired packaging. 

Homogenisation

It is always possible to homogenize granulate to obtain a consistent end product. To do this, vertical blender are used that homogenize the granulate after it's fed into the loading hopper. Afterwards the granulate is continuously cycled from all points of the blender. To ensure high-quality granulate, we monitor the mixture's quality using MFI measurements that are carried out in the Gheys laboratory. This process goes on until the desired end result has been achieved. After monitoring and, where necessary, adjusting the blending process, it supplies the customer with the measurement data it requires to be sure that the product is usable. 

Moisture and MFI measurements

Gheys laboratory operations are based on unparalleled accuracy and the utmost care so that the reliability of its test results are indisputable. A team was specially trained for this purpose to use cutting-edge equipment to measure the moisture content and determine the viscosity of the thermoplastics.