From meat pies, to lamingtons, to fairy bread – it’s no secret that Australians love their snacks. Australia is home to a few iconic homegrown snack brands with the industry peaking in demand last year at an annual revenue of more than 4.2 million AUD, according to Statista.
Savoury snacks such as chips are a popular choice for peckish Australians, keeping potato harvesters, producers, and manufacturers on their toes when it comes to servicing and maintaining their equipment, according to BSC Sales Representative for the Food and Beverage sector, Fady Elchab.
“At BSC we play a key support role to some of the snack industry’s biggest names, and we strive to provide dependable service that grows their business operations and reduces costs wherever possible,” says Fady.
Recently, one local snack brand manufacturer was experiencing problems with their potato peeler. The existing bearings were sliding up and down the shaft causing wear and eventual breakdown of the equipment and the customer was concerned about the costly downtime being incurred by these failures.
They deferred to Fady and his team at BSC for assistance with finding a bearing solution that was food grade and would extend the life of the potato peeling equipment. Fady visited the site with his in-house engineering team to assess the application and identify areas for improvement.
“We recommended the NTN F-UC stainless steel bearings with collars and a lubrication package,” says Fady. “The raceways and rolling elements are constructed from martensitic stainless steel and the housing and cover from austenitic stainless steel which are ideal for applications that need to be resistant to corrosion.”
“These particular bearings are filled with solid grease that is safe for food processing applications and in compliance with the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) H1 standard for incidental contact with food,” he explains.
“The Solid Grease formulation is primarily grease with a polymer carrier, which is moulded inside the bearing and heat cured to wax like solid. In operation the Solid Grease gradually releases the lubricant content under the bearing’s operating temperature and centrifugal forces. This controls leakage and contamination to the area surrounding the bearing. The Solid Grease composition does not emulsify with water, ensuring long lubricant life. And the bearings are fitted with a nitrile rubber seals to protect against any ingress of dust or water.”
After replacing the previous bearings with the NTN solution, the customer was pleased to find their potato peeling equipment was working much more reliably and for extended periods of time without any failures.
Fady attributes this success to the BSC’s excellence in engineering and technical expertise, backed by streamlined logistics and supply chain through Motion Australia’s joint venture with NTN in Australia.
“We have enjoyed a longstanding partnership with NTN in Australia, and as one of Australia’s foremost bearings solutions providers, we were happy to supply an NTN solution for one of our local customers,” he concludes. “We do our part to supply bearing solutions to ensure there is no shortage of snack supplies for our customers!”
NTN F-UC Stainless Steel Bearing Units
Features and Benefits
• Stainless steel construction for superior corrosion resistance
• Dust cover with rubber seal provides protection against water and dust
• Solid Grease filling for slow release, long life reliable lubrication
• Grease in accordance with NSF H1 food safety standards
• NTN’s proprietary housing casting method for a smooth surface finish