THE ineffective control of dust and insects, coupled with variances in temperature, result in hygiene as well as health and safety compliance problems. And with large volumes of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in food manufacturing facilities as well as retail stores, the associated ingress of unwanted elements is a given.
That’s according to Wim Dessing, Sales Executive at Apex Strip Curtains and Doors, who said that high quality strip curtains offer an affordable and viable solution for a number of these applications.
“Our Balledge PVC strip curtains are equally at home in the food, pharmaceutical and heavy engineering industries as effective control mechanisms against various foreign elements.”
Dessing said the curtains are transparent allowing unimpaired visibility. This eliminates accidental collisions between pedestrians and vehicles, while at the same time the specially formulated PVC provides durability for extended longevity.
Six specific elements are controlled by using Apex General Purpose Strip Curtains: humidity; noise; temperature; hygiene; dust; insects; health and safety.
In highly sensitive environments such as pharmaceutical or printing, control of the level of humidity is critical to ensure a high quality level of finished product.
Noisy machinery, especially in the printing and engineering environments, can be effectively enclosed with PVC strip curtains without obstructing the operator and hindering production.
“Tests have, in fact, shown that noise levels can be reduced over a range from 7 to 15 decibels to improve working conditions,” Dessing said.
In food processing and handling facilities, such as the dairy industry, keeping temperature at specific optimum levels can mean the difference between an acceptable product and one which must be rejected due to spoiling.
“Temperature control is crucial to the quality of valuable perishable cargoes destined for either export or domestic use.
“In addition, it’s important to ensure hygiene in such facilities and Apex General Purpose Strip Curtains have been found to contribute towards attaining acceptably high levels of hygiene.”
Dessing said temperature control was equally important in food preparation and storage, cold storage and freezer areas as well as in refrigerated trucks.
“Apex General Purpose Strip Curtains have a patented reinforced edge, referred to as the Balledge, which ensures an overlapping secure seal whereby cold air is kept in and warm air is kept out to ensure maximum thermal control.”
In pharmaceutical and chemical plants PVC strip curtains are used to ensure dust free and hygienic manufacturing areas. The curtains are also used around pill packaging areas, in powder rooms, mixing rooms and warehouses.
“Maintaining a dust free environment is also important in the handling and packaging areas of manufacturing plants where clean surfaces are required to obtain adequate sealing of packaging material.”
Dessing said that in the food processing sector, there was a definite need for strip curtains in wash areas, deboning sections, mixing rooms, vacuum packing facilities, holding and freezer rooms or delivery trucks.
“Raw meat products are a big attractant for unwanted insects. Fortunately, the Apex General Purpose Strip Curtains can control the presence of insects to ensure absolute hygiene.”
Open areas at dust filtration and extraction units can be enclosed using PVC strips and other applications are found in mine hostels, kitchens, food preparation areas and workshops.
