In the beverage can manufacturing business, vacuum pumps are a necessity to have.

“They’re critical to the process and their reliability and efficiency impacts significantly on our business,” says Nampak’s Bevcan divisional technical manager Phil Skinner.

He adds that in more remote plants, the reliability factor is even more important.  In fact, the most recent Sullair pumps – three VS20-75 and one VS16-50 vacuum pumps, supplied by Goscor compressed air systems, distributors of Sullair in southern Africa, are to be installed in Angola.

“We’re confident about the decision to remain with Sullair after our Cape Town and Springs experience, where the same pump types have well over 45 000 hrs on the clock without requiring any major overhauls yet,” says Skinner.

Sullair’s Paul Combe, who assisted with the final selection of pumps and their configuration, says the VS series of Sullair vacuum pumps is unique.

“Sullair Series VS vacuum pumps are built of the highest quality components, to assure the utmost reliability and minimum maintenance expense and offer more features and options than most vacuum pumps in this size range,” he says.

The Series VS pumps use a single-stage, rotary screw vacuum pump and feature Sullair’s rugged bearing design: tapered roller or angular contact ball bearings on the discharge end, cylindrical roller or ball bearings on the inlet for high loadcarrying capability.

Sullair vacuum systems use proven rotary screw technology to produce vacuum at unrivaled efficiencies. Because they are air cooled and require no seal water, there are no water acquisition, treatment or disposal costs. As a result, these systems offer lower power costs and up to 50% lower operating costs than other types. The system has two control modes: constant vacuum and load/no-load control which also contribute to lower operating costs.

The full vacuum range offered by Sullair is 70 acfm through 2500 acfm at vacuum 85 kpa. The 75 hp VS20-75 has a capacity from 795 to 1034 acfm and the 50 hp VS16-50 has a capacity from 409 to 627 acfm.

• Other important features of the Sullair systems are:
•  the 10 micron inlet filter
• the 10 micron oil filter
•  the oil separation system
• the temperature control valve
• the standard NEMA design motor
•  the inlet check valve and
•  the starter control panel which houses the separator differential pressure gauge
• the discharge temperature gauge
•  the high discharge temperature shutdown and
•  the high discharge pressure shutdown.

As well as being the distributors of Sullair, industry leader in the provision of compressed air solutions, Goscor Power Products, part of the Goscor group of companies also distributes Robin Subaru engines, generators and pumps, Tannong Ruby high pressure piston pumps, Grasshopper zero-turn ride-on-mowers, and a general range of light construction equipment including Meiwa vibratory rollers and rammers.

Caption for pic: (Sullair VS 10 and VS 16 GROUP)
Examples of the Sullair VS 10 and VS 16 vacuum pumps supplied by Goscor Power Products to Nampak for use in their Bevcan division in Angola.