THE Fifth BRENNER Tank LLC 2006 Expo in June spotlighted the company's new Shaker Tank, featuring a sophisticated heating system and an innovative vibration package to reduce unloading time of viscous products by up to two hours.
“This solution will reduce heel and significantly lessen disposal charges, ease driver effort, and reduce cleaning time, administrative processing, and liability,” said John F Cannon, Brenner vice-president of sales and marketing.
The new tank's introduction was part of activities at Brenner's headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Bruce Yakley, Brenner president and chief operating officer, greeted guests with a welcoming address.
At the Shaker Tank presentation, Hans Schaupp of LCL Bulk Transport Company noted that he and his father, Bob Schaupp, approached Brenner, seeking a way to expedite chocolate handling. Hans and Bob Schaupp and Brenner engineers put their heads together and designed the trailer.
“In addition to reducing the time for unloading by about 60%, the Shaker Tank eliminates the need for the driver to climb on top of the trailer,” Hans said. “It also keeps people from having to go inside the tank to handle heel. We estimate the reduction in heel at up to 80%.”
The 6,000-gallon tank trailer is equipped with a new Brenner heating system powered by the tractor. “The system warms the tank and other critical areas around the top valve,” said Cannon.
Morning program
In addition to the Shaker Tank rollout, the Expo included a morning program filled with industry seminars conducted on the campus of Marian College. Topics covered were petroleum issues, sanitary standards, overfill protection systems, and tank corrosion. In the afternoon at its headquarters, Brenner displayed several tank trailers and provided a liquid-unloading-induced cargo tank collapse demonstration.
Taking part in the various discussions were Bob Koeninger of Dixon Bayco USA (overfill protection), David Sergeant of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (petroleum issues), Bill Werner of Brenner (sanitary standards), and Steve Suess of Stork Technimet Inc (tank corrosion).
Brenner demonstrated the tank collapse so that spectators could see what happens second-by-second in the phenomenon and learn how to avoid the incident. Suck-in events can occur in various situations, such as at wash racks when the manhole cover is closed after cleaning and the tank is parked outside in freezing temperatures, when cargo is pumped off while the manhole cover is closed, or during closed-loop unloading when someone forgets to open a valve on the air replenishment line.
Another feature of the day was an in-depth tour of the Brenner manufacturing facilities where procedures could be observed for aluminum and stainless steel tank trailer production. Brenner builds a wide selection of stainless steel transport tanks to haul acids, chemicals, juice, milk, and water. Aluminum transport tanks are manufactured for hauling asphalt, chemicals, crude oil, and petroleum products.
The Sixth Brenner Expo is scheduled June 13-14, 2007, at the Brenner corporate headquarters in Fond du Lac.