Stahlin Non-Metallic Enclosures meets Select Technologies’ criteria for quality, UV protection, and cost competitiveness for protecting controls in food processing plants.
The Situation
Select Technologies Inc. (STI) is a full service food plant equipment systems integrator specializing in design-build- installation of production line services for process, material handling and plant facility/utility systems.
Capabilities include production/packaging line layout, electrical automation design, UL 508a panel building, IT integration/programming and mechanical system design all the way to production line relocation services.
The Challenge
Industrial ammonia refrigeration lies at the core of their control and automation experience. STI was completing a refrigeration engine room control upgrade for a food distributor in the Chicago area with over 1 million square feet of floor space.
The project scope included controlling multiple refrigeration compressors, vessels and pumps to space equipment like cooling coils and air units. One of the key components used in all of these areas included sensors to manage space temperatures; many were placed in the controlled space and others were outdoors.
Protection of these sensors by a reliable enclosure is essential, especially because many of the controls operate in environments that are inherently wet and corrosive.
The Solution
Stainless steel is often the first choice for enclosures in the food industry. However, Select Technologies believed that they could protect their controls just as effectively with a fiberglass enclosure.
Due to high standards required in the food processing industry, STI’s customers expected the best. Consequently, making a decision to switch vendors is not something their company takes lightly. When they discovered and tested the DiamondShield® Series of fiberglass enclosures with other Non-Metallic Enclosures, they concluded Stahlin had a reliable product that provided uncompromising protection.
The Stahlin Diamondshield® Series was developed for design flexibility and pleasing aesthetics. Applications include harsh corrosive and wash down environments, both indoors and out.
Unique internal panel management capabilities provides the end user with only the features they need for their application, yet enable the use of every cubic inch of valuable internal enclosure space. Plus, the DiamondShield® series is molded with SolarGuard®, meeting another of STI’s requirements: protection from UV-Radiation.
After analysis STI determined that non-metallic enclosures are significantly more cost effective than stainless steel (20-40% less) and are very competitive with other metallics.
They also discovered Stahlin’s DiamondShield® series is highly cost competitive with other non-metallic enclosures. Additionally, value-adds, such as SolarGuard®, put these enclosures in a class by themselves without adding cost.
