Vortex® holds the esteemed position as the global leader in valves designed for handling dry bulk solids. Situated on a sprawling 15-acre campus in Salina, KS, their cutting-edge manufacturing facility and office complex span over 150,000 square feet. Leveraging their current infrastructure, they have implemented lean manufacturing techniques supported by advanced fabrication equipment and laser cutting technology.
As Vortex® embarked on an expansion and modernization journey, they extended their reach into new global markets. With valve solutions sold in over 75 countries worldwide, they have established local representatives in more than 30 countries. Alongside their corporate headquarters in Salina, KS, they maintain global offices in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Latin America, and Asia.
The company's journey began in the 1980s with the awarding of a patent for the Orifice Gate™. This groundbreaking valve design exceeded industry standards for handling dry materials in pneumatic conveying. Subsequently, the launch of the Wye Line Diverter™ followed, applying similar design principles to revolutionize process efficiencies compared to traditional flapper or tunnel style diverters.
The Vortex® Iris Valve opens from and closes toward the center of its opening to create a gradual flow or restriction of materials. This design ensures an even discharge of materials and allows manual control over flow rates. The Iris Valve’s fabric sleeve and gradual closing action protect delicate and friable materials from degradation. When fully closed, the Iris Valve’s fabric sleeve is twisted to the point that it becomes a flat, tight barrier to hold back materials.Ideal application: Bulk bag unloaders and applications requiring manual control of gravity discharged, free-flowing dry bulk solid materials.
The Vortex® Pivoting Chute Diverter™ offers in-line maintenance features, durable materials of construction, reduced downtime, prolonged service life and many other significant advantages over flap diverters and bucket diverters.Ideal application: Used to divert heavy-duty and/or abrasive dry bulk solid materials from one source toward two or three destinations in gravity-fed applications.
A robust roller-supported slide gate featuring bonnet seals and side seals to provide a better seal of fine materials and dusts across the blade and to atmosphere.
Ideal application: Ideal for handling heavy-duty aggregates and abrasive materials in installations above or below gravity-fed hoppers/silos, mixers, and augers/screw conveyors. Custom sizes are available to accommodate any combination of gate stroke or width.
Our knowledge and experience with handling abrasive materials like salt came from an extended and close working relationship with the salt industry. We identified slide gates and diverter valves' key wear points, reinforced those areas with abrasion resistant materials, and added features to reduce the time it takes to perform maintenance on our components. These improvements extend the valve's service life and reduce life-cycle costs.
Salt is a mineral that is essential for all animal life. It is obtained through mining or by evaporation of seawater. Of the approximately 200 million tons of annual production, about 6% is consumed by humans. Other uses are water conditioning, highway de-icing, and agriculture.
Due to the corrosive nature of salt, valving may be ordered as standard, with stainless steel "wetted" parts and frames, or with epoxy coated exteriors - depending on the environment where handled.
Whether you are a plastics compounder (blending polymers, fillers, plasticizers and colorants), a plastics company that utilizes a compounder’s product to manufacture plastic products (e.g. plastic bags, bottles, compact discs, outdoor furniture, packaging, pipe, vinyl siding), or a plastic recycler, somewhere in your system a Vortex product may be needed.
Our knowledge and experience with handling plastics came from a long history and close working relationship with the Plastics industry. We’ve identified slide gates and diverter valves’ key leaking points, developed proprietary sealing technologies and added features to reduce the time it takes to perform maintenance on our components. These improvements extend the valve’s service life, while reducing life-cycle and housekeeping costs.
Compounding
Compounding consists of preparing plastic formulations by mixing or/and blending polymers and additives in a molten state, these blends are automatically dosed through feeders/hoppers.
Manufacturing
Due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships.
Recycling
Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastic and reprocessing the material into useful products, sometimes completely different in form from their original state.
Our knowledge and experience with handling abrasive materials like cement came from an extended and close working relationship with the minerals industry. We identified slide gates and diverter valves’ key wear points, reinforced those areas with abrasion resistant materials, and added features to reduce the time it takes to perform maintenance on our components. These improvements extend the valve’s service life and reduces life-cycle costs.
Companies that deal with abrasive material are conscious of the fact that new equipment begins to wear out immediately upon use. Equipment installed in harsh environments need constant maintenance. To address this issue, Vortex designs slide gates and diverter valves that are serviceable in-line. Performing service to a gate or diverter without having to remove it reduces maintenance costs and downtime.
Why the cement industry chooses Vortex:
1. Durability – Our cement handling components utilize liners made of hard metals or metal alloys in key areas to extend the valve’s service life. Replacing the liners is much easier than replacing the entire valve.
2. Ease of Maintenance – Cement plant supervisors and maintenance personnel appreciate Vortex gates, diverter valves and loading spouts for their easy in-line maintenance features. These features reduce costs associated with downtime and lost production.
Commands equipment to fail-closed in the instance of electrical loss. Single-coil solenoid valves are often used on slide gates in order to close down the system. This forbids materials from moving any further in the manufacturing process until power is restored.
Disadvantages of an open system:
• Bad batches, caused by materials skipping over stages of the manufacturing process.
• Damaged product, as a result of materials traveling through the system at uncontrolled velocities.
• Damaged equipment, as a result of materials making forceful impact upon contact.
• Product loss from spillage at the end of a process.
A Special Service Inlet acts as a funnel to direct material flow through the center of a gate’s opening. It is designed to create a slight void between the blade, seals and the material flow stream. This creates a “dead pocket” that allows residual materials remaining at the leading edge of the blade to fall away into the process line below, prior to the blade entering its end seal. By reducing material packing upon gate closure, a Special Service Inlet provides a better seal of materials and dusts, extends seal service life, and reduces maintenance frequency and spare part requirements.Note: Primarily used in gravity flow applications.
Several Vortex diverters feature a removable access panel. For quick and easy interior access without tools, the removable access panel can be secured with spin knobs.Compatible Vortex products: Seal Tite Diverter, Flex Tube Diverter, Aggregate Diverter, Titan Lined Diverter, Pivoting Chute Diverter
