When it comes to controlling water and wastewater supply, the Tweed Shire have a lot to cover. Their water supply system comprises 24 water pumping stations, eight treatment plants, 174 wastewater pumping stations and 641 km of water-mains piping.

Often the work performed by an air cylinder is only required in one direction. During some operations, air cylinders are retracting or extending with no applied load on the cylinder rod - however, typically, the same pressure for both the extend (working) and retract (idling) operation is used. The use of common pressure for both functions can use an excess of up to 40% compressed air.

Australian carpet manufacturer Godfrey Hirst has optimised its Geelong production facility with an environment-friendly manufacturing solution, founded on a purpose-built compressed-air system from Champion Compressors.

Compressed air filtration has been adopted by a precious metals specialist to halve its energy costs.

A quarrying company based in Zambia, Central Africa, contacted Colin Bracken, Sykes group regional manager, Africa, to provide it with a complete solution to its pit dewatering problems.

As business becomes more aware of its carbon impact and finding ways to reduce its carbon footprint, Boge provides details on a tried and tested four-step approach to energy management for compressed air users. Its approach not only benchmarks an existing system but also provides for continual assessment and validation of the compressed air system.

Sykes Group was recently approached by one of its mining customers to assist in solving an age-old problem - how to avoid damage to pumpsets from rock fallout during blasting.

When Coopers Brewery relocated from Leabrook to Regency Park in 2001, the company took the opportunity to expand its capacity by commissioning an entirely new brew house. International brew house designers Briggs of Burton proposed linking all measuring points with a Profibus communications system, based on its outstanding success in other brew houses worldwide.

Increasing automation in mechanical engineering means that the demands on machine safety are also rising. Aspects of process safety, availability and cost-effectiveness must all be reconciled. Safety guards or gates ensure that operating personnel are protected against flying metal swarf or hazardous movements on plant and machinery. Their position can be monitored by a wide range of safety switches available on the market, which take into account not only safety-related aspects but economic considerations too. The switch you use will depend partly on the machine and partly on the safety-related requirements.

Aircraft wings that redirect air to waggle sideways could reduce airline fuel bills by 20%, according to research in the United Kingdom.

As well as being a source of information, the internet allows people to interact on a social level. Social internet-based environments have many powerful applications that can be utilised to service equipment in the industrial sector.

What kind of controller is best for your application? Is it a PLC? Perhaps you should use a PAC? Maybe a PAD? When it comes down to it, the name is not that important. What is important is developing a clear understanding of your needs and then finding the controller that best targets them.

Finding specialised qualified staff and the need for greater efficiency in an increasingly competitive marketplace motivated Peter Harrison, the General Manager of Melbourne-based Hilustre Coatings Pty Ltd, to investigate the possibility of using a robot at the company’s spray painting facility.

In 2006, Sykes Group sold a number of QSPCP200 (Quiet Solution) pumps to a South Australian government department. The pumps have been commissioned to take water from one of the Murray River tributaries and discharge it onto the dry flood planes. The result is, its not only saving the old river red gums but bringing life back to trees.

Sykes Group was recently approached by a mine in Central Queensland to supply a pump for a duty of 200 L/s at 90 m head in an area that is inaccessible in wet weather and can also flood.