F.S. Repair Underscores Commitment to Quality Repair & Resale at A Good Price with Abanaki

Distribution Leader Installs Model 8 Oil Skimmer on Coolant Tank to Ensure Clean, Safe, and Cost-effective Operations for their Customers

F.S. Repair, Inc., a family-owned and operated business, provides a range of services from industrial repair, machine shop, welding & fabricating, gearing, and CNC capabilities. The company, located in Kingsley, Iowa, incorporated in 1987 and continually strives to be the number one customer satisfaction company out there. Between Floyd Sitzmann and his two sons, Craig and Jamie, they have over 100 years of combined experience to offer their customers.

Their company goal is to deliver quality products at a responsible and affordable price throughout the Midwest. So in 1995 when F.S. Repair's customer began experiencing a common challenge to the bottom-line in both cost and quality—coolant contaminated with oil—Jamie took action.

Keeping Wastewater Clean, Key to Quality

Jay Sitzmann's customer was experiencing a problem common to this in the tanning industry. A leading poultry company was looking for an efficient and cost-effective way of eliminating and disposing of unacceptable levels of oils and greases in their wastewater from the plant's food processing operations.

Jamie went to the Internet to research a solution that they could use. He was looking for an efficient and cost-effective way to remove the contaminants, maintain a high level of quality and, at the same time, reduce cleanup costs as well as eliminate any associated liabilities. He discovered one of the easiest ways to accomplish all of these goals was to install an oil skimmer. Upon further investigation, he located a leading supplier of oil skimmers, Abanaki, and found a low maintenance, easy to use tool in the Abanaki Model 8 Oil Grabber. The flagship product specifically targets applications with a high risk of oil and grease in wastewater discharge.

Lowering Hydrocarbon Levels, Quickly & Easily

With the help of the Abanaki technical staff that Jamie calls "second to none," he chose to distribute the Model 8 to his customer. Its belt-driven design works on the differences in specific gravity between oil and water. Water has a specific gravity of one and most oils have a specific gravity of less than one. This causes oil to float to the top of the water where it can be removed. The Model 8's belt action then breaks the surface tension of the water to attract and collect the floating oil. The belt passes through a set of wiper blades via a motorized head pulley where the oil is wiped off both belt sides and is allowed to flow through into a proper disposal container.

This type of skimmer maintains minimal operating space and maximum pick-up capacity. Because the Model 8's belt materials do not attract water, almost nothing but contaminant is picked up. Jamie reports that the Abanaki unit, which has the ability to separate oil at a rate up to 40 gph, was particularly appealing for its ability to produce "significant" savings in both time and money.

Low Maintenance Benefits to Boot

The Model 8 also is designed for virtually maintenance-free operation. Flanges on the tail pulley allow it to roll freely on the inside of the belt without becoming dislodged. It requires no bearings and does not need to be fastened to the tank. Its stainless steel belt material makes it well suited to operating in high temperatures without added expense. If turbulent conditions exist, an optional tether and cage assembly prevents the tail pulley from being dislodged.

How's it working for F.S. Repair's customer?

According to Jamie, the experience has been good from start to finish: "The people at Abanaki were extremely helpful in advising the right solution at the right price. Since the Model 8 was put into service in 1995, their customer only had to replace the belts. It's proven to be a very reliable machine with good benefits," he says.

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