CST achieves full local manufacture to end supply bottlenecks

CST Wastewater Solutions is now fully manufacturing its rotary drum screen and screw screen compactors locally to enhance quality and certainty of supply in Australia and New Zealand.

The company has been working in both countries for more than 25 years with dozens of compacting installations, including gut washers used by Thomas Foods International, anti-clogging and environmental/OHS installations in one of Australia’s largest tanneries, rotary drum screens used by food processor Beak and Johnston, and multiple rendering plants throughout New Zealand.

“Our experience with the meat, dairy, and livestock industry tells us that not only do they need certainty of supply of technology vital to their efficiency and sustainability objectives, but also this technology needs to be of the highest quality and reliability to deliver the absolute best ongoing performance,” said CST Wastewater Solutions Managing Director Michael Bambridge.

The switch to local production also enables CST Wastewater Solutions to offer full stainless-steel products with these same standards of Australasian metals engineering, replacing carbon steel components and further improving corrosion resistance in harsh industry environments.

Such testing environments — in which the screens, compactors, and wedgewire and perforated drums are typically used — extend from the toughest environments, including meat, dairy, poultry, fishery and livestock plants to municipal sewerage, waste management and water supply networks.

“In many industrial plants, these screens allow the important product recovery of fat and proteinaceous material, which is all worth money to companies seeking to maximise their use of resources,” Bambridge said.

The screen and compactor technology is integral not only to processing operations, but also to the sustainability of livestock industries sharing valuable water resources with nearby communities, and wishing to maintain their social licence to operate.

“Integral to the new, locally manufactured rotary drum screens and auger extractors is industry-best screening, which provides 50% finer apertures for greater waste solids extraction and recovery,” Bambridge said. “We have been moving progressively to local manufacture for the past two years now, to maintain quality leadership and guarantee reliable supply as COVID-19 has wrought havoc with imports.

“Shortages and erratic supplies have had a knock-on effect right through the wastewater engineering sector, so we took the decision early to give our customers an edge in quality and certainty. Not only does local manufacture deliver a more robust and low-maintenance product — and better whole-of-lifecycle value — but it places the customer next to the source of supply for spare parts, future extensions and retrofits to boost performance long-term.”

This is an especially crucial factor with staff and skills shortages, and as more and more organisations don’t have the engineering services onsite to totally maintain and to repair equipment without delay if it needs rapid attention.

CST’s range of screening equipment, now fully designed and fabricated in Australia, includes internally fed rotary drums, in-channel horizontal rotary drums, and screw screens as well as associated equipment.

Image: CST Wastewater Solutions’ Mike Bambridge, left, and Moore Metals Managing Director Steve Moore, right, with locally engineered screening and compacting technology.