Silo Solution Reduces Warburtons ATEX Compliancy Costs

A flour storage silo scheme for Warburtons, Britain’s biggest bakery brand, has reduced costs of achieving ATEX compliance. Rather than purchasing new vessels, the solution provided by Croston Engineering utilised four refurbished (40 ton) flour storage silos by Barton Fabrications.

The scheme was designed and commissioned by Croston Engineering for the family bakers Newport bakery in South Wales, purchased in 2006 and fully refurbished to meet Warburtons exacting standards. Under advice from Croston and Barton, the decision to upgrade, rather than replace, silos resulted in cost savings of approximately 15%. Increasing demand for the refurbished solution for ATEX compliancy is reported by both Barton and Croston due to both cost savings and the environmental benefit of maintaining existing equipment.

Commenting on the Warburtons silo refurbishment solution, Mark Barton, Managing Director of Barton Fabrications said:

“We always review the technical and commercial feasibility of using a customer’s existing silos, rather than simply installing new ATEX compliant silos. There are many misconceptions in the industry about ATEX and we are able to provide guidance and expertise to ensure that we supply the most cost effective, ATEX compliant, silo solution.

“Existing silos, installed by the bakery’s former owners, did not comply to latest ATEX legislation. Silo construction was therefore reviewed and our design and manufacturing team were able to provide a refurbished solution to achieve ATEX compliance.”

To minimise disruption to civil works, in conjunction with Croston Engineering, the four silos were removed over a weekend for upgrading, including fitting a new roof design, filtration and load cell systems at the Bristol based Barton site. The silos were then transported back to site for re-installation over another weekend, thus ensuring no delays to the site construction schedule.