New Facilities in Geesthacht

How to Make Our Brand Come to Life

Enjoying Working Together

Ambitious Growth under Challenging Circumstances

New uni-chains Plus+ Range

Asian Modular PMM Meeting 2015

uni ECB Succeeds in Canadian Meat Industry Live Roller Drive Range Extension

IPACK-IMA 2015 Bakery China 2015

Providing Volvo with a Great Solution

uni JCB Chains K200 & K300

E-RappCalc

Tightening a Belt Energetically

Workshop Training in Singapore and Australia

AB Learning

Basic Course Feedback

Grundfos and uni NTB

Sample Centralization Project Update

Pillow Belts for Soft Landing of Potatoes, Fruit and Vegetables

Success in Brick Industry with Multifunctional Ropanol Belt

In this issue...

Newsletter from Sales Development Team

Issu

e 12

· J

une

2015

Deadline for material to the next A2B: July 31st, 2015

Management News

New Owner of Ammeraal Beltech

As you have already heard, Advent International is in the process of acquiring Ammeraal Beltech. This is a positive development for our company, and on behalf of the entire organization we would like to welcome Advent International as our new owner.

Continuity with fresh momentum: Ammeraal Beltech welcomes Advent International as our new owner.

Advent’s interest in purchasing AB was particularly triggered by the “platform” that has been built during the last few years and the potential our company holds for future growth. This transaction therefore represents a tribute to all the hard work and the turnaround that each and every one of you helped engineer.

Advent InternationalAdvent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. Of particular interest and benefit to Ammeraal Beltech, Advent International has extensive global experience with industrial companies such as AB.

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 2

Continuity and Renewed MomentumAdvent is fully behind AB’s business plan, and they intend to be active owners in supporting our development goals. Ammeraal Beltech will therefore be able to access extra resources, either financial or in the form of expertise from their global network. They will help us deliver on our objectives, continue to grow, and accelerate plans in areas such as geographical expansion and product capability.

Advent’s experience, knowledge and hands-on approach to value-creation will be therefore be of great value to us as we continue to consolidate and build our competitive position. A Bright FutureNaturally, you may be wondering how this change will affect you personally. In fact, our future has never been brighter or more secure. Over time, this transaction will enable us to further develop our operations, benefiting our internal processes, but also the overall service level we are able to offer our customers. Employees and Customers will continue to our top priority. We know we can count on you, not only to help welcome Advent, but to continue to do your very best every day to keep on building a better AB. Here’s to our Bright Future!

The German Opco and EuroTEB will begin the move to our new facility on June 18th and we will resume production at the new site on June 29th. Back up plans for emergencies are in place. Once the move is completed, we will be able to offer a much better support to our customers. We are also investing in new equipment to increase

our technical capabilities for creating higher value added solutions. More information about the new facilities and capabilities will be published in the next A2B and we are looking forward to our official opening ceremony on 24/7.

New Facilities in Geesthacht

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 3

I’m pleased to be part of the international team working on our Brand Strategy. For me a brand is a shortcut way to represent the “something extra” that makes the customer choose one company or product over another. It’s how our customers feel when they do business with us. As part of our most recent brand strategy workshop we looked further into this. We are finalising our vision mission and values – what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. We agreed on our “tone of voice”, which is how we say things. For instance, if I greet you by saying “Hiya!” or by saying “Good Morning”, it gives you a different impression about me. Words and tone matter! Our conclusions were that Ammeraal Beltech’s “voice” should be warm and human, confident, clear and simple, positive and international. Another big challenge tackled at the workshop was how we manage our range of brands. Over the years, Ammeraal Beltech has grown by acquiring companies who each have their own brand. Unfortunately each brand looks different which makes us look chaotic, and reduces our sales potential – if a customer only knows us from one brand, they might not ask us when they need a product from a different brand. However there is a risk when you merge brands - if a customer doesn’t associate their needs with the parent brand or they have a conflict with the parent brand, you can lose the customer. For example only in the past few years has Skoda been linked with Volkswagen, until then the impression was of bad quality from Skoda and it would have damaged customers’ idea of Volkswagen if they knew it was from the same company.

We therefore need to decide how we handle our Corporate Brand (Ammeraal Beltech) alongside our product brands such as uni-chains, Rapplon, etc., and how they are positioned. We need to decide if we should more systematically refer to Ammeraal Beltech also as a product brand, something not done consistently today. This is a complicated subject so we have spent time talking with employees and customers to understand how they feel about each of our brands in relation to one another and the strengths and weaknesses of each. Again here, whatever the decision, we will in the end be in a stronger position if we can communicate consistently across the globe. We expect to formally launch our new vision, mission, values; tone of voice; and brand structure in the autumn. As they are all linked, it will be done in one “big bang”. I am very excited for this next step in our transformation which should mean we have a new way of expressing the extra value we bring to our customers.

Rachel Oakley, Product Strategy Director Sales Development Team.

Branding

How to Make Our Brand Come to Life

Brands are like people, how we feel about someone depends on what they do, how they look and what they say.

To trust a brand we have to be consistent, if someone is dressed extremely smartly but swears a lot we are confused, if someone talks nicely but doesn’t do what they say, we don’t trust them.

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 4

65th Anniversary

Celebrate Working TogetherAmmeraal Belting is turning 65 years old this year. Our 65 year old success is due partly to our excellent products. However, our knowledgeable and dedicated employees are our biggest competitive advantage. Without your efforts, this 65th anniversary would not be possible.

We are all passionate about the work we do and proud of our high team spirit - we enjoy working together! This anniversary will be all about celebrating 65 years of working together…and on having some FUN along the way!

We now have a perfect opportunity to share and appreciate our working together…So, get some of your colleagues together and share with the rest of us how at your organization you enjoy working together and having some fun!

During the next 6 months….

Send us your video!

Later this year, you can vote for the best enjoy working together movie! The winner of this competition will receive a prize.

Back in 1950, Dutchman, Thomas Ammeraal, invented an endless woven conveyor belt to be used in the biscuit industry and founded a company known as Ammeraal.

Today Ammeraal Beltech is a global leader in belting solutions and after 65 years of growth and development, we are still very passionate about remaining close to our customers while helping them with their belting challenges.

Yes, get some workmates together and Make a video! Share your passion for working together for Ammeraal Beltech and Show a happy and funny working day.

There are no strict guidelines (see insert), just make something fun that hopefully shows a number of staff. Don’t hesitate to get your MD on camera too!

Which company / Opco will be the first to submit a video? Keep an eye on our Ammeraal Beltech Youtube Channel and on AB Infonet Movies will be uploaded from time to time.

Happy 65th Anniversary and Have fun!

Video guidelines:

• Ensure your local management is aware and supportive.

• Aim for no more than 2 minutes in length.

• Be safe! Don’t do or try anything dangerous.

• If you film or involve colleagues, make sure they agree first to be filmed (video will be published on youtube and on our intranet).

• Have fun!

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 5

Spot On

Ambitious Growth under Challenging Circumstances...AB India was established in October 2010 in the Southern Indian capital city of Chennai (formerly known as Madras). Our objective is to become the market leading belting solutions provider in India by strongly demonstrating excellent customer insight.

Chennai is one of the four metropolitan cities and one of the major trade centers of India. It is well linked by road, rail and air to important cities and it is a sea port. Chennai is a large scale industrial hub with the presence of leading multinational companies in diversified market segments.

Originally, the Indian market was covered by AB Singapore. In 2010, we set up the AB operating company in India. We started commercial operations and by 2014 with a staff of 26 members, AB India was the most outperforming AB Company in APAC, thanks to our dedicated employees and strategic business partners.

AB India Team

Stephen JosephDirector Sales & Marketing

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 6

Our team members are innovative and inspired at all times which has greatly contributed to our success. We appreciate our value creators – the front line employees - for their great contribution to achieve remarkable growth.

During the past few years, we have successfully executed many projects under various industry segments, including automotive, tyre & rubber, airports & logistics and food. Global players such as Hyundai, Volkswagen, Daimler, Middleby And Michelin are on our key account list. Besides, many projects has been executed with leading local players such as MRF, JK & Apollo in Tyre segment and New Era Eng. in food segment, to name a few.

We have a fully facilitated workshop in Chennai backed by well-trained, technical team to cover three main product groups – Synthetic Belting, Modular Belting & HPFB.

We focus on expanding our geographical coverage with increased sales network supported by strong fabrication facility. In view of this, we have decided to set-up our 1st branch office in Vapi, located in Western India. Vapi is approx. 170 km to the north of Mumbai which is the commercial capital of India. Currently, we follow various statutory formalities and will be operational by Q3-2015.

Soon we will be completing 5 years of successful operation and plans are underway to have it celebrated in a special manner.

With the inherent value of our employees’ knowledge, creativity, commitment to tasks and capacity to collaborate, our aim is to increase sales by 3 folds in next five years and become a truly excellent company.

Kantha Amaratunge, Managing Director

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 7

Product News

New uni-chains Range

We are introducing a new range of higher performance stainless steel slat chains. They are ideal for handling glass bottles or jars and they have been designed to meet the needs of the most modern, high speed, high efficiency production lines.

On production lines handling glassware, the big issue is preventing breakages. Breakages are caused by items falling over on the line due to an uneven surface or tripping during side transfers. Breakages are also caused by glassware getting crushed from too much pressure during product accumulation – a low friction surface is very important.

The range of stainless steel chains are made from a new grade of stainless steel which is much stronger and harder than our existing materials. This means that the chains can carry a heavier load and have a much higher wear resistance – great for abrasive conditions such as returnable glass handling lines.

Our new premium range of stainless steel slat chains giving increased production line efficiencies and lower total cost of ownership

The chains have a very smooth polished finish and rounded edges on the links which helps prevent items from falling. We are also offering a new width link, K330, which reduces gaps on multi-strand conveyors.

Graham Allen, Global Manager Modular Belting

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 8

Plus+ Slat Top SS Chains Travel Direction Pitch Flight Widths Availability

Series / Type mm / inch K ---- mm

512 Plus+ Single Hinge Straight running 25.4mm / 1.00 inch K197, K217, K236, K250, K283, K325, K325, K350

MTO

805 Plus+ Double Hinge Straight running 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K750 Standard

815 Plus+ Single Hinge Narrow Straight running 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K125, K175 MTO

815 Plus+ Single Hinge Optical Straight running 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K325, K330 MTO

815 Plus+ Single Hinge Straight running 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K325, K330, K400, K450, K600, K750

Standard

815 Plus+ Single Hinge Straight running 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K225, K250, K263, K275, K300, K350

MTO

8127 Plus+ Single Hinge Wide Straight running 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K750 MTO

8811 Plus+ Magnetic Optical Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K325, K330 MTO

8811 Plus+ Magnetic Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K325, K330 Standard

8811 Plus+ Magnetic Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K450, K750 MTO

8811 Plus+ Bevel Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K325, K450, K750 MTO

8811 Plus+ Tab Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K325 Standard

8811 Plus+ Tab Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K330, K350, K450, K750 MTO

8811 Plus+ Tab R Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K325, MTO

8817 Plus+ Magnetic Wide Side-flexing 38.1 mm / 1.50 inch K750 MTO

Training

Asian Modular PMM Meeting 2015The focus for the Modular PMM meeting 2015 was aligned with our AB group strategy, IGNITE!, and how to achieve the growth goals. As different parts of the world face different challenges from the modular business perspective, it was decided to split this year’s Modular PMM meeting into 3 groups (Asia, Europe, and North America) and hold it locally.

April 13th and 14th, the first Asian Modular PMM meeting ever was held with a total of 14 participants.

Benefits of splitting up are several:• Smaller group facing more similar challenges so a more personal and

in-depth approach can be given during the meeting. • Local MDs can also be invited and simultaneously work on

sharpening their modular business plans for 2015-2017. • The meeting can be built around a few building blocks; sharing

existing local modular business plans and ideas, building the correct team, route to market, fit gap analysis and finally building plans with growth focus.

Graham Allen and myself shared our experience and ideas on these topics to help the local teams sharpen their plans and to put emphasis on the most important aspects first. The first results of the meeting are promising but as always it is the responsibilities of the local MD and PMM to keep track and keep updating local business plans ‘along the local learning curve’.

Germ Buter, Product Manager

MODULAR BELTINGPMM SUPPORT 20

15

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 9

One of the two major beef processing organizations in Canada with branches all over the world offers a wide range of raw and processed meat products to their customers across Canada and other countries. Their production rate has to be as fast as possible and product loss must be avoided. They must also save time on cleaning their conveyors to allow more time for production.

Belt must be suitable for BRC (British Retail Consortium) for food safety and OHSAS 18001 (British Standard Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services) for operator’s safety.

Beef loin trimming line The company was experiencing the following problems with theirconveyors equipped with belts from our competitors:

• Contamination risk and product loss as small pieces of meat could go through the belt.

• Operator knifes could get caught. • Uneven belt surface making product manipulation difficult.• Pins coming off the belt and thus requiring frequent inspection +

operators’ injuries.• Meat getting caught around the sprocket teeth creating risk of

contamination when transferred back to the belt and touching fresh loins.

• Cleaning difficulties due to pin design of belt (using too much chemical product to kill bacteria).

• Pins being shorter than the overall belt width creating an area where fat and meat accumulate causing contamination when the dirt is transferred back to the belt and touching fresh meat.

• Edges allowing for catch points and bringing risk of operator injury if shirt sleeves are caught between two belt links.

Our uni ECB solution

With our uni ECB belt it seems all the problems were solved;

• Closed surface reduces product loss and contamination as the meat does not go through the belt. Residues of meat does not build up on the drive sprockets.

• No knives getting caught in the belt.• Smooth surface without openings allows easier manipulation of

product.• Smooth belt edges avoiding catch points, accumulation of dirt and

shirt sleeves getting caught.• Less maintenance and easier cleaning. No tools or mechanics

needed for the removal of the belt.• Better release property of belt material (POM SI)- uni ECB remains

white longer and this shows that the top surface does not get contaminated as quickly as other matrials.

• Sprockets without openings no longer allow debris accumulation.

If you have questions, please contact Gervais Cote, External Sales, Canada.

Success story

uni ECB Succeeds in Canadian Meat Industry

Easy Clean Belt

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 10

Product News

Live Roller Drive Range Extension Roller conveyor systems dominate logistics and distribution centres, warehouses and shipping departments throughout the world. They are frequently installed to link different manufacturing processes. The belt is a critical part of the conveyor but may not be visible as they are installed under the rollers.

Due to the relatively low belt speeds, the demands of the belt are relatively low. However, the belts still have to be strong because the conveyor can start/stop fully loaded and elongation of the belt under load would affect the conveyor performance. They must also withstand temperature variations, oil, grease and dirt contamination.

Whilst roller drive conveyors are generally more energy efficient than other conveyor types, their energy performance is dependent on the ability of the belt to effectively transmit the drive power to each roller with minimal loss of energy. We have a range of high performance belts for roller drive conveyors offering excellent energy efficiency and rapid installation.

We offer a complete range of solutions for continuous running, low pressure and zero pressure accumulation across a wide range of loads and conveyor lengths—ClassicSplice and QuickSplice solutions.

The new members of the range refer to RAPPLON® QuickSplice belts. They close the gap int the range with a specific single layer Polyester fabric offering k1% value of 22 N/mm (force/elongation value of 22 N/mm at 1% elongation). These items offer market leading energy efficiency as well as:

• Fast onsite installation with specialised easy to use installation tools — conveyor is back in use in shortest possible time.

• No variation in belt thickness at joint area.• Flexible strong belt – can be used on smaller pulleys.• Market leading energy efficiency.• No running direction to be observed.• Low elongation.

If you have any questions, please contact Thomas Meile, Product Manager RAPPLON® High Performance Flat Belts.

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54542 UU E15.30 RFQ 3.00 0.1 15.0 0.5 1,5 30 +0 / +60 Polyurethane Rough Royal blue Polyester fabric Polyurethane Fine Royal blue new54555 UU E22.20 RRQ 2.10 0.1 22.0 0.5 1.5 30 +0 / +60 Polyurethane Rough Royal blue Polyester fabric Polyurethane Rough Royal blue new54556 UU E22.30 RRQ 3.00 0.1 22.0 0.5 1.5 40 +0 / +60 Polyurethane Rough Royal blue Polyester fabric Polyurethane Rough Royal blue new54561 UU E15.20 RFQ 2.10 0.1 15.0 0.5 1.5 30 +0 / +60 Polyurethane Rough Royal blue Polyester fabric Polyurethane Fine Royal blue new54614 GG E08.20 RRQ 2.00 0.1 8.0 0.5 1,5 25 +0 / +60 XNBR elastomer Rough Black Polyester fabric XNBR elastomer Rough Blue54627 GG E35.30 RRQ 3.00 0.2 35.0 0.5 1,5 60 +0 / +60 XNBR elastomer Rough Black Polyester fabric XNBR elastomer Rough Blue54655 GG E15.20 RFQ 2.00 0.1 15.0 0.5 1,5 25 +0 / +60 XNBR elastomer Rough Grey Polyester fabric XNBR elastomer Fine Blue54656 GG E15.25 RFQ 2.50 0.2 15.0 0.5 1,5 30 +0 / +60 XNBR elastomer Rough Grey Polyester fabric XNBR elastomer Fine Blue54657 GG E15.30 RFQ 3.00 0.1 15.0 0.5 1,5 40 +0 / +60 XNBR elastomer Rough Grey Polyester fabric XNBR elastomer Fine Blue54665 GG E22.25 RFQ 2.50 0.1 22.0 0.5 1.5 40 +0 / +60 XNBR elastomer Rough Black Polyester fabric XNBR elastomer Fine Blue new54666 GG E22.30 RFQ 3.00 0.1 22.0 0.5 1.5 60 +0 / +60 XNBR elastomer Rough Black Polyester fabric XNBR elastomer Fine Blue new

Overview QuickSplice Roller Drive Belt range only

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 11

Exhibition

IPACK-IMA 2015

Ammeraal Beltech participated at the IPACK-IMA exhibition held from May 19th - 23rd, 2015 in Milan, Italy.

Our 2 main key corporate messages were our ONE-STOP-BELT SHOP and our SAFE & CLEAN concepts.

This edition of the Ipack-IMA was larger due to the combination with other related events (Meat-Tech, Fruit innovation, Dairy Tech, Intra Logistica and Converflex). The quality of the exhibition was very high with the presence of all main international brands, including many new exhibitors from China.

The Highlighted Solutions presented were:• New Premium Ropanyl series - highly flexible premium

quality food safe belts.• New uni ULB (Ultra Light Belt) - revolutionary new

modular belt for general conveying.• New uni OSB (Open Spiral Belt) - the most open spiral

modular belt on the market.• New Food Safe Blue Chains – improving food safety.

AB also hosted an Innovation Corner seminar called “Helping you bake it better” about our innovations for the Bakery Industry.

We also kicked-off celebration of Ammeraal Beltech’s 65th Anniversary.

We are counting on AB companies around the world to rapidly follow-up with any received sales leads. When relevant, you should have received these already from Mrs. Simone Potma.

Giuseppe Allais, Industry Segment Manager Food, Simone Potma, Exhibitions and Promotions coordinator and Marc Maisonneuve, External Communications & Online Media Manager

A High Quality Exhibition and KICK-OFF of Ammeraal Beltech’s 65th Anniversary Celebrations

To get a better idea of our booth, have a look at this summary YouTube video

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 12

Exhibitions

Bakery China 2015Ammeraal Beltech has participated in Bakery China since 2013 and we can certainly say that this years exhibition was a much better show than previous. In 4 huge halls, the focus was on the equipment from many international bakery OEMs (Kaak, Mechaterm, IMAforni) and local Chinese such as Sinobake.

The number of competitors is also growing. In addition to Habasit, Forbo Siegling and Yong Li, Chiorino and several local smaller belt manufacturers were also present.

The quantity of visitors was amazing! We registered more than 140 visitors covering both OEMs and EUs – mainly 80% local and 20% overseas. Our visitors focused particularly on:• Ammeraal Beltech solution on biscuit processing lines• Silam synthetic belts (useful for high working temperatures and release properties)• Soliflex PRO homogenous belt on swan neck inclined conveyors• uni OSB - Open Spiral (modular) Belt for spiral and cooling

Ammeraal Beltech China has built up a strong relationship with the Chinese factory of the well-known American OEM, AMF (Bakery Systems). This year, we were pleased to show an AB banner on the new AMF China depanner equipment with a Nonex white belt.

Our booth was certainly one of the better within the belting business – due to the 3 open fronts and the 2 demo conveyors with Synthetic belt and Soliflex PRO including cleats and Bordoflex. The local sales staff from AB China have the feeling that the exhibition was a success and that it soon will boost our bakery business.

For more information, please contact Giuseppe Allais, ISM Food or Lisa Xu, ISM Food AB-China.

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 13

Success Story

Providing Volvo with a Great SolutionGreat efficiency improvement and cost savings for Volvo - Ammeraal Beltech Sweden provided Volvo stamping facility in Olofström with a great solution.

AB Sweden has been supplying the Volvo stamping facility in Olofström Sweden with our products for many, many years and has built up a great relationship by continuously providing good solutions in combination with high quality 24/7 service.

We have recently worked with Volvo on another improvement project to get a particular stamping line to go up in production efficiency from 65% to a target of 87%. The project started some two years ago and one of the improvements was related to the outfeed conveyor carrying the stamped parts.

ProblemDue to the crowned shape of the stamped parts, this conveyor used a timing belt in the centre and it was accompanied by two synthetic belts on a lower level on either side to support the bottom of the stamped product. The problem with this set-up was that the stamped part hanging over the timing belt frequently caught the side of the timing belt. This resulted in many damages and subsequent need for replacement after an average lifetime of just 5 months.

SolutionAB Sweden suggested to provide a timing belt with two tracks of PUS 600 foam on top of the outer sides of the timing belt to avoid contact between the stamped product and the sides of the timing belt.

This resulted in an increase of up to 3 times the lifetime but even more importantly, it contributed to significantly less downtime. Along with many other improvements to the entire stamping line, the result of this improvement project is that they are now running at an 89% production efficiency which is 2% over target and an overall improvement of 24% compared to the old situation. Out of the 24% improvement, Volvo estimates that 5% is due to the timing belt solution provided by Ammeraal Beltech.

This Volvo facility produces 75% of the parts needed for all Volvo production worldwide and therefore it operates 24 hours per day and 7 days per week (roughly 335 days/year). At approx. €800/hour downtime costs, the contribution to efficiency savings by Ammeraal Beltech adds up to an impressive € 320.000!

This case shows how a close contact to the customer and frequent visits created a perfect understanding of customer processes, requirements and challenges. By providing a pretty simple solution, we contributed to an enormous improvement of production efficiency which is a confirmation for Volvo that AB was, is and will continue to be the right partner for them.

Jean-Pierre Claassen, Industry Segment Manager

For questions, please feel free to contact Jonas Olson (External Sales AB Sweden) or Jean-Pierre Claassen (ISM Automotive).

Conveyor setup with timing belt in the middle

Middle timing belt with PUS 600 foam

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 14

Product News

uni JCB Chains K200 & K300During processing or handling stacks of corrugated boards, it is often necessary to either turn the stack 90 degrees or arrange for a 90 degree sideways movement transfer of the stack. To enable construction of such turning and sideways transfer conveyor units, we have added two new narrow chains to our award winning uni JCB belt series.

The new uni JCB chains are produced in widths of K200 (50.3mm) and K300 (76 mm). These are defined as chains because they are not suitable to be bricklayed into wider uni JCB belts but simply used as narrow strands for product transfer operations.

The narrow K200 or K300 uni JCB chains when used in the configuration shown in the photo allows the corrugated stack to be transferred sideways to either the left or right sides of the infeed conveyor. The narrow uni JCB transfer chains are mounted on a rise and fall mechanism, allowing the product stacks to be lifted clear of the first direction belts and then transported sideways completing the stack transfer movement without the need for any stack pushers.

With these product combinations the use of steel rollers or steel roller chains is eliminated resulting in all plastic product contact surfaces.

The use of uni JCB chains is not limited to corrugated stack handling, we also are handling stacks loaded onto wooden pallets in the final packaging sections of corrugated plants (see photo).

Another interesting development incorporating the new uni JCB chains is turning stacks 90 degrees in the down-stacker discharge conveyor area.

With these latest developments, the need to incorporate turntables into corrugated plant conveyor systems is eliminated resulting in more simple compact plant layouts. uni JCB modular belting solutions, making corrugated production plants more efficient.

For further information, please contact Graham Allen, Global Manager Modular Belting and Hermann Nelles, Global ISM Corrugated.

Handling stacks loaded onto wooden pallets

Turntables incorporated into corrugated plant conveyor systems

90 degree transfer conveyors

uni JCB chains K200 and K300

NEW

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 15

Technical information

Tightening a Belt EnergeticallyTransmission and conveyor belts have a wide range of applications in industrial and service industries. Instead of the classic leather belts, other high quality materials have entered the market long ago. These materials are carefully combined in layered structures so that they can be optimally designed for a specific application.

The design of the belt has a large impact on energy consumption. Ammeraal Beltech AG utilizes a test developed at the University of Rapperswil to optimize energy consumption and thus the lifetime of the products. This project was supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

The A2B newsletter from January 2015 explained the project at a glance.Now you can read the detailed technical report (German and English) under: www.bfe.admin.ch/CT/prozesse — written by Benedict Vogel, on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE).

Thomas Meile, Product Manager RAPPLON® High Performance Flat Belts.

Tool

E-RappCalc

After a year of developing, the online solution to calculate belt recommendation for Power Transmissions, Roller drives or Tangential drives is now available. This new online version is replacing the old offline tool immediately.Finally E-RappCalc is ready to use!

E-RappCalc is our new online calculation tool to calculate suitable flat belts in an easy way. It is no guess work and each calculation steps can be followed. The tool gives you a clear recommendation of the suitable belts and the reasons, including precise instructions regarding belt tension for the on site fitting staff.

The major modifications between the old offline and the new online version are not to be found in using of the data entering. This remains as before, so that there is no big reorientation needed for the user. The advantages with the new online version are obvious:

• Easy access by web• No local installation needed• Always up to date with the latest data• All needed documents – e.g. User Manual,

Questionnaire – are downloadable

E-RappCalc is ready and available under www.e-rappcalc.com. Get your access and login details now and make your own calculation for your customer specific application.

Contact us to get your login-details: rapplon@ammeraalbeltech.com.

For more information, you can also contact Marcel Oberholzer, Junior Product Manager RAPPLON® High Performance Flat Belts

Finally E-RappCalc is ready to use!

Screen shot of the unique measurement software

The energy test bench with the belt layout

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 16

Training

Workshop Training in Singapore and AustraliaThe main goal for us as RAPPLON® Manufacturer is uniformity. We (Ammeraal Beltech and distributor workshops/splicers) need to present to the market belts produced under the same rules, procedures and with the best possible quality.

Rydell Industrial (Belting) Co. is our reliable partner in Australia for more than 26 years.

To improve the quality of their fabrication, we were able to train splicers from all Rydell Branches during 5 days in Brisbane and Melbourne. Also members of their Sales team and valued distributor attended the training. On the way to Australia, we could also train workshop staff at Ammeraal Beltech in Singapore for 2 days.

Training content:• History of RAPPLON® and AB Ch workshop

tour.• Belt design and Nomenclature.• Health and safety.• Storage and cleaning directions.• Camber and waviness.• Retraceability and tracking of RAPPLON® belts.• Splice failures.• On-site fitting jobs inclusive tensioning of

belts.• Classic and QuickSplice fabrication.

Boris Vuksa, Product Manager RAPPLON® Tools & Fabrication

Team Brisbane

Team Melbourne

Training

AB LearningBuilding up knowledge and understanding – more languages available:

AB Learning Level 1 is ready now as an e-learning (online) course in the following languages:

• English• Dutch• Danish• Polish NEW

• Spanish NEW

• Chinese NEW

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 17

Training

Basic Course FeedbackFollowing my participation on the Basic Course - Fabric Belting, I was asked to write about my experience. I can honestly say that it has been the most enjoyable and rewarding course, I have ever attended since I started working (too many years ago to count!).

I had been with AB for 3 weeks when my course started, having served many years with Habasit. The most enjoyable and one of the most important subjects for me was the Basic Conveyor Design element. Customers are too quick to blame the belt as the culprit so when you have knowledge of conveyor design, this means you can have a different conversation with your customer.

The friendly and supportive nature of the people at AB (both home and overseas) is absolutely over-whelming. By the Wednesday night, it was hard to believe that our group had literally met only 3 days ago. It was like being with a group of good friends who had known each other for many years.

I believe with any course, you get out of it, what you put in. My advice for future attendees would be to go with a positive approach and positive things will come out of it for you – but most importantly, do not get your name added to the “sing list”, or you too could be singing “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred!!

Darren Shepherd, Sales Engineer, UK

Testimonial

Grundfos and uni NTBThe Danish company, Grundfoss (global leader in advanced pump solutions and a trendsetter in water technology) discovered that the uni NTB belt could ’stand the pressure’ from the sharp steel scrap pieces that were causing the company breakdowns with a lot of maintenance and downtime.

The design of the uni NTD makes the top surface close so tightly that the small scrap items do not get stuck in the surface and the uni modular quick pin release feature makes it easy to replace a link or belt.

Another application challenged Grundfos with wear and tear.Sharp metal roundels cut into the surface of the belt in some cases causing contamination of the production process and thus reducing product quality. The solution was a belt made of NBWR (Non-Breakable Wear Resistant).

Read more about all this in the testimonials

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I produktionen hos Grundfos udstanser vi metal rondeller med meget skarpe

kanter, som er ekstremt slidende på vores transportbånd. Jeg er glad for,

at vi i samarbejde med Ammeraal Beltech Modular A/S valgte et bånd i

plastmaterialet NBWR, som øger driftsikkerheden.

Udfordret af slitage

Vi havde en transportør hvor båndets overflade hurtigt blev medtaget p.g.a. de

skarpe udstansede metal rondeller, der skar ned i overfladen og i værste fald

høvlede små plastdele af. Vi var udfordrede af denne slitage, som medførte

mange produktionsstop i løbet af året. Typisk skulle båndet udskiftes efter 3

måneders drift for at undgå, at små plastdele skulle fortsætte videre i processen

sammen med de udstansede rondeller og skabe kvalitetsproblemer.

Tæt samarbejde forbedrer driften

Ammeraal mente, at løsningen til denne type opgave ville være, at anvende et

bånd fremstillet i materialet NBWR = Non Breakable Wear Resistance. Efter

en testperiode på to måneder hvor et uni MPB bånd i NBWR kørte ”24/7”,

kunne vi hos Grundfos konstatere, at der næsten ingen slitage var at

se på overfladen. Der havde ikke været brug for hverken service eller

justeringer på linien, så driftsikkerheden var klart forbedret.

Vi betaler en højere pris for at få den ekstraordinære slidstyrke, som

NBWR materialet giver, men det har været alle pengene værd og er i

sidste ende med til at sænke driftsomkostningerne.

Jeg er yderst tilfreds med at have et tæt samarbejde med Ammeraal

Beltech Modular A/S, som gør, at vi finder nye løsninger og

forbedrer driften.

Jørn Vestergaard Jensen,

Maintenance Technician , Grundfos

”Ekstraordinær slidstyrke

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Hos Grundfos har vi altid fokus på at finde løsninger, som kan reducere antallet af driftstop. Det, at vi nu har kortere stop og færre nedbrud på transportørerne, der kører med affald fra stansemaskiner, kan ses direkte på bundlinien.

Affald fra stansemaskiner gav hyppige driftstop Vi havde længe været udfordret af, at spidse og skarpe stålemner, indsmurt i olie, nemt kilede sig fast i transportbåndene. Dette var årsagen til beskadigelse og nedbrud på op til to timer for at udskifte båndet. Umiddelbart så vi ikke andre muligheder end den traditionelle drift med syntetiske bånd.

Løsningen på vores problemer, som vi havde valgt at leve med, viste sig under et fabriksbesøg hos Ammeraal Beltech Modular A/S i Vejle.

uni NTB kan ”tåle mosten” i non-food industrienUnder besøget så vi, at de testede uni NTB. Med en deling på 8 mm og en nosebar diameter på 6 mm, som sikrer en lille overgang, fangede båndet vores interesse. Produktet er udviklet til fødevareindustrien, så det lå ikke lige til

højrebenet i vores non-food industri. Vi ville undersøge om båndet kunne ”tåle mosten” med vores skarpe stålemner. Motivationen for os var, at

modulbåndsprincippet, hvor man blot hiver en stift ud ifm udskiftning, kunne mindske vores down-time.

”Det er et pokkers godt produkt”Udfaldet af testen var ud over alle forventninger! Efter kontinuerligt brug i snart 3 måneder uden rengøring eller vedligehold, har vi ingen stop haft – ingen down-time! Designet af modulerne lukker så tæt sammen, at de små emner ikke sætter sig i klemme i overfladen – alt i alt kan jeg kun sige, at det er et pokkers godt produkt!

Det var en enkel og let opgave at ombygge transportøren og vi er nu i gang med at implementere uni NTB flere steder i produktionen.

Jørn Vestergaard Jensen, Maintenance Technician , Grundfos

”uni NTB og færre nedbrud”

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 18

Samples

Sample Centralization Project UpdateWe are in full preparation for the launch of our more centralized, standardized and professional Sample making & distribution process.

Since the previous article about Samples in the A2B from January this year, a lot has happened behind the scenes. All of our Industry- and Product Binders have been inventoried and all publications have been reviewed and updated. We have worked with EuroFAB and uni-chains who will both be playing key central roles in the new situation.

Our overriding goal remains to provide a good set of marketing materials in combination with the right samples so that sales people have the best tools available. We also aim to save time and costs at OPCO level, enabling our market facing organizations to better solely focus on customers and sales.

What to expect in the coming monthsSoon we are going to do a pilot with our improved processes involving 1 or 2 OPCOs who will be able to order a limited number of items (sample binders and/or Industry boxes). After this, an evaluation will take place with uni-chains and EuroFAB to iron out any glitches before rolling out globally.

Expected Improvements

New toolsThe most important new tools will be the Sample Swatches and Sample Books. With a plastic sample holder you are limited to include only 10 synthetic samples, while you can easily fit 10 – 50 samples into a Sample Swatch and even up to 150 samples into a single Sample Book (depending on thickness of chosen samples).

Other impactThe implementation of this project will also affect the role of ICS. As of this summer (final date to be announced), ICS will no longer be the provider of plastic sample holders, AB folders and AB binders. These items will be ordered and delivered from EuroFAB. The official cutover date will be communicated to you soon.

Stay tuned!

Marc Maisonneuve, External Communications & Online Media Manager

• Better overview of available sales tools• Improved carrying and protecting possibilities for all sales tools• Standard labeling and naming conventions for samples• New AB branded sample swatches & sample books• Cartridge system to hold modular samples• New bags and/or trolley bags (following our “to be revised” branding)

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 19

Synthetic Product Highlight

Pillow Belts for Soft Landing of Potatoes, Fruit and VegetablesFor many years, AB offers ‘soft landing’ pillow belts, which are food grade belts that protect products from damage and reduce costly wastage to a minimum. A Flexam base belt has a covering of a similar but lighter material periodically welded to its outer surface forming the waves (pillows).

Pillow belts are frequently applied in weighing and packaging systems for potatoes, fruit and vegetables. After weighing, products land on the belt from a limited drop height. Pillows create the soft landing or cushioning for the product to be conveyed, this reduces the possibility of damage of delicate products and can also present a regular flow of the products to the next process. Apart from the traditional green pillow belts, we also supply belts in white, light blue and dark green colors, which comply with FDA and EC 1935/2004 guidelines for food products. Belts can be fitted with metal fasteners or supplied endless.

Eurofab can fabricate and supply pillow belts to meet exact specifications including height and dimensions of the pillows, their center-to-center distance and optional guiding ropes or other accessories. The outer pillow can be inset from the base belt edge and/or have more gaps across the belt surface if required.

Materials used for pillows:

572400 Flexam EF 5/1 A18+06 green FG

572410 Flexam EF 5/1 A18+06 white FG

572470 Flexam EF 5/1 A18+06 l.blue FG

572480 Flexam EF 5/1 A18+06 d.green FG

For more information, please contact Michel Keetman, CPM Synthetic Belts.

Screenshot from input new product configurator

Ammeraal BeltechA2B · Page 20

Synthetic Product Highlight

Success in Brick Industry with Multifunctional Ropanol BeltSituation: Gatelli Laterizi is an Italian manufacturer of all different sizes of bricks. The bricks are made from clay and extruded into long rows of one size. After extrusion the bricks are cut in the appropriate heights and need to dry for 24 to 48 hrs, before baking them in the oven.

For the transport from the extruder, to the different stages of cutting and into the drying process, the customer used the Sampla B31 belt which is flexible and impregnated. Giving the belt a good resistance to abrasion, it is recommended for baked bricks and accumulation. However, this belt appeared to be vulnerable to the tear forces and not very abrasion resistant. Solution: AB Italy recommended the 511512 Ropanol ESM 15/3 01+00 green AS NL to be used upside down. The belt is a 3 plied belt with a green Ropanol impregnated topside and a dense dark green PVC impregnated bottom side. It also has a spun fabric in both top and bottom fabrics, with antistatic yarns. The PVC impregnation provides the belt with a good abrasion resistance to the forces in the process. This resulted in a much longer lifetime of the belt (1.5 to 2 times) for the customer, and we succeeded in increasing the sales price with 50%.

Background information: Originally the 511512 was developed for the tyre industry, with the Ropanol topcover for good non-stick properties against extruded rubber. The Flexam bottom allows the application of accessories for tracking in this application.

When used with the Flexam on top, the belt has the benefit of the Ropanol impregnation on the bottom side. This brings the benefit of a lower coefficient of friction at the bottom and a strong impregnation on the topside for more abrasive applications. Other applications are the metal industry, where the ropanol impregnation is better resistant to mineral oils, and the logistics industry. Furthermore Eurofab is able to deliver the belt with a folded edge (see picture).

For more information, please contact Michel Keetman, Central Product Manager or Christian Salvatori, LPMM Synthetic belting Italy.

Ropanol belt with folded edge