Stevens are pleased to announce that we are now selling the ScanDrive range of Motorised Drums. These Drums are engineered in Denmark, to the highest quality standards. With quality and reliability paramount in the design, the ScanDrive Drum Motors align perfectly with the Stevens ethos.
For more information please take a look at the below link to our introductory brochure for the range, or contact us and we would be happy to discuss your requirements.
The following pictures were taken recently during production of a belt that we supplied ready to be retrofitted by one of our customers to a ‘Nose-Over’ Conveyor up in Scotland. This enquiry was slightly uncommon for a couple of reasons, making a nice change from a standard design. For most orders when Stevens supply a Sidewalled Belt, we would be asked to supply the belt as an Endless band (continuous Vulcanised Joined loop), or to join the belt on-site at our customer premises – either with a Vulcanised Joint or with Stainless Steel Joiners. On this occasion we were asked to supply the belt pre-fitted with Stainless Steel Fasteners In-House and ready for our customer to wrap the belt on their Nose Over machine and put the pin through the Joiners.
The second slightly unusual aspect of the design is that the belt was designed to carry metal coins, meaning that the belt was supplied in Green PVC at our customer’s requested, rather than in a more common Food Quality Blue/White PVC or PU (or Rubber for more arduous applications) that you may usually see for Sidewalled Belting.
This belt was produced from a 3 Ply Green Diamond Back Belt, with Rigid Fabrics, to ensure the lateral stability of the belt. The base belt was then fitted with 50mm High PVC T Cleats (Flights) and 50mm High Footless Corrugated Sidewalls, before being finished off with a K10 (10mm x 6mm) Tracking Guide and Stainless Steel 125 Self-Set Rivet Style Fasteners.
For any Flighted and Sidewalled Belt enquiries, for either new or existing designs, please contact info@stevensbelting.co.uk or sales@stevensbelting.co.uk.
Stevens are often asked to supply slicing belts, particularly for Carrots, Leeks, Parsnips and Asparagus, but this belt enquiry was a little different to most. Our customer came to us looking for a solution that would allow them to increase their production level without having to invest in new machinery or additional staff. The below pictures show the Asparagus slicer belt currently being worked upon by production, with over 400 individual Flights welded to the belt.
With our responsive Area Sales Managers always on hand to visit our customers and covering most of the country, we were able to attend the customer’s site within 24 hours to measure up their existing conveyor belt and talk through their requirements moving forwards. Following on from our site visit we were able to work with our customer to reduce the pitch of their flights to the absolute minimum. By doing this and reducing the wasted space, our customer was able to almost double their production for only a small additional cost.
The new 3 Ply Blue PVC, FDA Approved and EU Food Quality Inverted Diamond Backed Belt was fitted with 20mm High Flights – a change from the Flight height of the original OEM specification (also at our customers request) to present both a cost saving and reduce wastage. The new Flights/Cleats were pitched at 35mm, to create a space of approximately 30mm for each Asparagus stalk to nestle in comfortably and Inset from one edge of the belt, for the blade to trim off the Tips. This Asparagus cutting belt was then fitted with Stainless Steel Fasteners and will be fitted by our engineers at our customer’s site. Our Cutting Belts can be supplied in a variety of colours and materials, with either regular or Fabric Reinforced Flights. From start to finish, we offer a personal and responsive service to offer the best solution for your requirements.
On any given day Stevens can be dealing with a number of urgent orders or call-outs to broken down production lines. We understand that keeping down time to a minimum is vital in any production environment; from a food factory to a car factory the end game is still the same – maintaining consistent and reliable production.
The below picture shows some of the processes that a belt went through for one of our orders just last week. This belt was ordered, manufactured and delivered to the customer all on the same day. We will always try our best to accommodate any urgent enquiries, whether you are a concerned about a possible breakage or already have a broken down conveyor belt.
At Stevens we always endeavour to do our best to meet three key criteria:
It is a combination of these factors that have led some customers to put their faith in us for over 25 years. From local companies to global brands, we keep you moving.
Stevens’ Rubber Grading Screens can be used to range of fresh produce, though it is our Potato Screens that are by far the most popular. Every Screen is made to order and this enables us to tweak our standard templates and make bespoke designs to suit the requirements of our customers. The Potato Screen below is an example of a custom produced design, this Grading Screen was manufactured with the intention of reducing both the downtime and the cost to the customer to repair/replace.
By creating a solid lateral strip pitched evenly along the belt, should the Screen be damaged for any reason, we are able to trim back the Screen to the nearest lateral section and splice-in a smaller section of belt. As well as keeping down time to a minimum and prolonging the life time of the Screen, this can provide a healthy saving to the customer, which is always a bonus. You should be able to notice the lateral sections in the below picture, taken before the joiners were fitted and the final clean undertaken.
The Screen above was produced from two sections of material to create the 2,440mm width (narrower belts are formed from one slab of material), complete with 30mm Square Holes and a wider section at each edge to improve the Screen’s strength. This Rubber Grading Screen was only around four metres in length, with between 5,000 and 6,000 holes, but Screens can often be double this length and on a custom built grader conveyor design, could be up to around twenty metres long!
Interestingly, this particular order was supplied for a customer local to our Soham branch, but Stevens have supplied Potato Screens for customers all over the country and even as far afield as Israel.
Stevens’ Rubber Potato Screens are available in a range of Hole Sizes and shapes and even if it is not a standard size that you require, we may be able to produce a custom mould to suit your requirement (initial set up costs may apply). For any bespoke enquiries email or call us and we would be happy to help.
With the softness of the Rubber proving much less harsh on the product than traditional metal or plastic screens, combined with the lighter weight and easier maneuverability, the Rubber Screens really are a great option for produce grading – and especially for Potato and Onion Grading.
Contact Us for more information.
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The below pictures show a recently installed SB/50 Positively Driven Cleated Belt, made up over a weekend in an an emergency for one of our customers. The homogeneous SB/50 Sprocket Driven belt type replaced a Modular Solution that had been installed previously. The conveyor only required a few minor alterations and was able to be retrofitted to the existing conveyor and running on the existing 2 inch Pitch Sprockets from the Customer’s Swan Neck styled Modular Belt.
This particular belt was fitted with 6mm thick Polyurethane Cleats to provide added strength and support on the inclines, as well as offering a much more hygienic and cleanable alternative to the previously installed Modular Belting. After repeated breakage and movement of the Modular Rods/Pins, that were slotted into the Belt Modules to hold the Modular Belting installed on the conveyor together (originally supplied by a third party), our regular customer turned to Stevens to try to overcome these issues.
We produced this belt on a Saturday, ready to fit as soon as the customer had a space in their production. At Stevens we understand your application and with decades of belting experience we always aim to offer the best solution, often both more effective and lower cost than the previous methods. We have a hard earned reputation of being the company to turn to when a complex Conveyor Belting problem needs fixing and we always do our best to keep you moving. We know belts.
Stevens’ range of Sprocket Driven PU Belting is available in both a 1 inch (25mm) and 2 inch (50mm) Pitch, meaning it can be used in place of most Modular solutions. The range can be fitted with Flights, Sidewalls, Perforations and more. As well as working on Sprockets, this belt type can also be driven with certain Motorised Drums. With very little tensioning required on these conveyor belts, the positive drive achieved from using Sprockets, the increased hygiene levels and the quality of the finish, we firmly believe that the SB/25 and SB/50 will continue to grow in popularity over the coming years.
If you would like to find out more information about our SB/25 and SB/50 Belting, please get in touch and we would be happy to help. Alternatively take a look at our informative brochure HERE.
Stevens Belting can accommodate small orders for replacement Conveyor Belts, right up to large orders that may consist of hundreds of conveyor belts in multiple belt types. New machinery manufacturer, large spare stockist, or individual looking for a one-off replacement; We have you covered.
The below picture taken on Friday show forty two individual belts in the process of being loaded up for delivery direct to the customer’s premises. You may notice the cardboard rollers used to wrap each belt up securely. By wrapping these particular belts in this way, we avoid causing any significant creasing to the belts. These belts are run on the machine without tension, so any creasing can cause a belt to jump and create issues for the customer. The cardboard rollers also create a rigid packaging that is great for storage – especially when most of these belts will be exported to customers in the USA!
42 Belts being loaded up for delivery
At Stevens Belting, we will always work with you to try and offer the best product for your application or design specification for your Conveyor Belts . In fact the belts in the image above have been custom produced for Stevens and are not stocked by any other belting supplier in the world. We go above and beyond to keep you moving, this may range from bespoke packaging requests – such as the cardboard rollers, customer-branded labels and individual bags in the above order, all the way to creating bespoke products or modifying existing materials. Our flexibility, experience and know-how set us apart from the companies that are part of a large conglomerate. In fact the majority of our Area Sales Managers have come through from a belt technician background and have years of experience that they can draw from.
If you are a machinery manufacturer struggling to make your design work to its optimum level with other belts, why not give us a call and arrange for one our Sales Managers to come in and take a look?
Sidewall Belts, especially those fitted with Flights, are one of the most time intensive types of Belts that we can offer. When we were challenged on Friday by one our Original Equipment Manufacturer Customers to produce a ten metre long Sidewall Belt, complete with Flights, for a Swan Neck Elevator Conveyor, it wasn’t light work to have this belt ready for fitting on the Tuesday. As you can see from the picture below, not only was the Belt delivered on time, but it was also delivered to an exceptional standard.
A recently fitted emergency Sidewall Belt for one of Stevens Belting’s Customers.
When fitting belts to Swan Neck Conveyors it is important to ensure that the base Belt is ‘Full Rigid’, with cross stabilisation properties. If the base material is not rigid enough, then the belt will bend and can cause significant issues for the Conveyor. The other major consideration for Sidewall Belts is the Pulley, Sprocket or Roller Diameter. The Diameter required may be slightly larger than you may think. The material fitted in the above picture is a Three Ply Blue PVC Diamond Back, fitted with inset 100mm High Footless Corrugated Sidewalls (these are hot welded to the Belt for strength) and 75mm High Cleats positioned at full-width within the Sidewalls. Stevens Belting offer an on-site fitting service, as well as producing belts that are made Endless in-house.
Another belt type that is suitable for Swan Neck and Elevator Conveyors is our Positively Driven Belting. The Positively Driven Belting is produced in the majority of cases from Monolithic (solid) Polyurethane material and can be Sprocket Driven. The Positively Driven Belting is a direct alternative to some Modular Belting, offering the benefits of the Sprocket Drive with a much more hygienic and easy to clean design.
If you are looking for any further information on Sidewall Belting, Cleated Belts or Sprocket Driving Belting please get in touch.
We have fitted belts in some unusual places in the past and for some uncommon applications, but fitting Transmission Belts to a Vintage 1902 Delahaye car was a first even for us. Fortunately after fitting the belt, we were even treated to a ride in the vehicle!
Below are a few of the pictures we were lucky enough to take of the belts fitted onto the 1902 Delahaye. The Vintage vehicle should now be ready for its annual pilgrimage in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Those eagle-eyed among you may have noticed our name in the April edition of both the Anglian Farmer and the Midland Farmer. This month’s edition covers the Potato Industry in depth, being the perfect place to showcase our popular Potato Screens. If you are interested in our screens, or any of our other products, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. From Soil to Supermarket; we keep you moving.
