ICI-Garst Seed Company - Alan Andersen

Alan Andersen, maintenance manager of ICI-Garst Seed Company, Inc., did not like to watch employees climb into the back of semi-trucks and poke at a load of husk-on harvested seed corn at the Coon Rapids, Iowa, facilities.

He did not like it when those cumbersome loads would 'splash' out of the truck and some seed would end up damaged.

Thus, when Straight, Adel, Iowa, introduced their 'Pulsator' truck unloader ICI-Garst were one of the first in line.

"We used to have a lot of trouble with the corn hanging up in the trucks," Andersen said. "We feel this is safer, because it eliminates the need to put a man in it, and is easier on the trucks."

Andersen said the Pulsator has eliminated the need for two people to 'kick-out' the loads, while paying for itself in three harvests.

At its two Coon Rapids, Iowa, facilities, ICI-Garst has three unloaders, including one Pulsator. Andersen said they unloaded 620,000 bushels of husk-on corn per year on average.

Overall, Andersen estimates the Pulsator is twice as fast as a normal unloader. He said if ICI-Garst could get a second Pulsator, it would have no need for the 3rd unloader. In other words, two Pulsator Unloaders do the job of three normal unloaders. Andersen said, "if we have a load that is extra dirty or hard to unload, we put it on the pulsating unloader. It makes it possible for us to unload those dirty, shucky loads."

Novartis Seeds - Bill Pelzer

Bill Pelzer, production supervisor at Novartis Seeds (formerly known as Northrup King Seeds), said his Lone Tree, Iowa, production plant had problems with cumbersome husk-on loads.

Now having a Straight Pulsator unloader allows Pelzer to unload husk-on loads that were nearly unloadable before. Like Andersen of ICI-Garst Seed Company, Pelzer said that the Pulsator has eliminated the need for two people to "kick-out" the loads, while paying for itself in three harvests. Pelzer said he can run two truck lines, but has only one unloader.  He said the Pulsator has enabled Novartis to unload semi trucks where it used to unload small trucks.

Pelzer concluded by saying, Novartis is big on safety, and this has a lot of safety features involved in it.

Extracted from Seed Today, Equipment Corner, Jan/Feb/March 1997, page 15.

Case Study:

Solving the Slow Unload Bottleneck

Pulsating truck unloader delivers faster, safer unloading

Unloading truckloads of husk-on seed corn was a major bottleneck for manager George Hohwieler at the Novartis Seeds, Inc. corn processing plant in Phillips, NE. Now, after a $4 million upgrade, the product is flowing smoothly.

Corn used to be delivered by a hodgepodge of trucks that created a problem at the unloading pit. Emptying the trucks was slow, hard and dangerous work. Two or thee unloaders wielded corn racks to pick the load into the receiving pit.

Even with two clump pits, the slow manual unloading time was limiting the facility's total production capacity. We knew it was past time to make some changes," says George Hohwieler, plant manager. If we could solve the unloading problem, we could go forward with internal processing changes and other improvements.

Truck unloaders key

The 1997 upgrade project began with the installation of two Straight pulsating truck unloaders. Pit capacity was increased and new pit shakers were added.

Two additional A&K husking beds were added as well as higher capacity conveyors to connect the pits and huskers. The project's cornerstone addition was a 30,000 bushel double airpass seed dryer.

The key to the project's success is our ability to unload a semi-trailer within 20-25 minutes, Hohwieler observed. Unloading is now a one person operation that is faster, easier and safer for everyone involved. The Straight Pulsating Unloader is a very nice piece of equipment.

Although the Straight unloader utilizes sophisticated hydraulics, Hohwieler anticipates local vendors will be able to provide routine maintenance.

While some unloader models require periodic cylinder replacement, Ted Hansen, President of Straight International, says his cylinders are 'virtually indestructible'.   'Straight Unloaders, some of which have had over one million dumps, have not had a cylinder reconditioned or replaced yet.'  Hansen adds, 'I have been told some telescoping cylinders have to be replaced every four to six years at a cost of about $25,000 each time. That is a significant maintenance cost our unloaders can avoid.'

Unique pulsating action

Straight unloaders' pulsating action is more like a controlled lurch than a shake or vibration. Once the truck is titled the entire platform is accelerated several inches backward horizontally with a patented wheel and track system.

As the backward movement is stopped the inertia of the load makes it literally weightless for a brief moment. The load then resettles into the truck after having moved backward a short distance. A series of pulses gently moves the load out of the truck.

If you have not looked at this technology, you need to see it, says Hohwieler. It is different. Straight Unloaders are also used to unload other commodities such as scrap iron, bags of cocoa beans and wood chips.

Novartis Seeds, Inc.

Phillips, NE

402 886 2257

Key Personnel

George Hohwieler, Plant Manager

Robert Millner, Facility Manger

Robert Yeager, Field Production manager

Reprinted with permission from Seed Today, July/August/September 1998, page 24.

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