Custom-built expansion joints solve unique customer challenges

HOLZ Rubber Company specializes in building expansion joints to meet exact customer needs. When standard products don’t fit the application’s requirements, the company can produce custom expansion joints.

A custom fit

One customer, a dry grind ethanol facility, was experiencing premature failures of the expansion joints on the grinding mills after only two weeks of operation, and the company’s process engineer was having difficulty identifying the cause. The customer reached out to HOLZ Rubber Company, which determined that the premature failure was being caused by misalignment between the piping and the feed pipe on the grinding mill. The company had been using standard expansion joints, which are not designed to compensate for piping misalignment greater than ⅛ inch. Misalignment reduces the movement capabilities of the expansion joint and can severely reduce service life due to excess stress. HOLZ custom manufactured an expansion joint with a built-in ¾-inch lateral offset to account for the misalignment. This change kept the plant running, reducing unnecessary downtime.

Another customer was experiencing drip tray corrosion in its electro polishing process because the sulphuric acid solution used in the process was dripping off of the wire cathodes between the two tanks and destroying the drip trays. The tank operator needed a more permanent solution to contain the acid, while also allowing the lids on the tanks to open. HOLZ Rubber Company produced a custom three-sided expansion joint to connect the two tanks. The expansion joint contains the sulphuric acid solution, eliminating the need for drip trays that require regular replacement.

Availability

HOLZ Rubber Company expansion joints are available in Canada through Northern Industrial Supply Co. (NISCO). The company has the expertise to help customers determine the best solution for the application.

To learn more, contact NISCO. 

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