Flexible Screw Conveyors
For Efficient Bulk Material Handling
Key Benefits of Flexible screw conveyors
Versatile Bulk Material Handling – Efficiently conveys powders, pellets, flakes, granules, brittle materials, and more, making it ideal for applications in the food, pharmaceutical, plastics, chemical, and environmental industries.
Flexible Layout Options – Easily configured for horizontal, vertical, inclined, or complex routing around plant obstacles. Perfect for tight spaces and multiple discharge points.
Dust-Tight & Contamination-Free – UHMWPE tubing provides a sealed conveying path, maintaining hygiene and preventing product contamination or loss.
Gentle, Controlled Product Flow – Single-motor operation ensures smooth, low-impact transport, reducing product degradation and preserving mix integrity.
Corrosion & Chemical Resistance – Resistant to a wide range of chemicals, acids, and corrosive materials—ideal for harsh environments and aggressive substances like hydrated lime or silica.
Food-Safe and Non-Toxic – Constructed from physiologically safe UHMWPE, ensuring no harmful effects during contact with sensitive or edible products.
Certified for Safety – Manufactured using extrusion-grade materials compliant with EC and FDA food-contact standards, supporting GMP and HACCP processes.
Ultra-Smooth Internal Finish – Minimises material buildup, enhances cleanliness, and simplifies routine maintenance and washdown procedures.
Self-Lubricating Properties – Naturally low-friction surfaces promote clog-free material flow without the need for additional lubricants or coatings.
Cost-Effective & Energy Efficient – A compact, motor-efficient design and in-house component production help reduce overall operating costs while maintaining premium quality.
Flexible Conveying Across Sectors
Our complete flexible screw conveyor systems are trusted across a wide range of industries for their hygienic design, long-lasting durability, and versatile performance. Engineered for efficient, contamination-free handling of powders, granules, and flakes, they offer smooth, consistent flow with minimal maintenance, ideal for both light and heavy-duty applications.
In the food and beverage sector, our conveyors provide safe, reliable transport of ingredients such as flour, sugar, grains, and cocoa, preserving blend integrity even with fine, aerated materials like seasonings and additives. In chemical and environmental industries, they excel at handling aggressive substances like hydrated lime, silica, and other industrial powders, thanks to their exceptional chemical resistance.
Our systems also support high-volume processing in the plastics and nonwovens sectors, efficiently conveying pellets, fibres, and flakes while reducing blockages and equipment wear. Beyond these core applications, we supply flexible screw conveyors to a variety of other sectors, including pharmaceutical manufacturing, where GMP-compliant, contamination-free performance is essential, as well as water treatment, flue gas treatment, animal nutrition, and more.
BUILT TO LAST
Agitation Systems for Consistent Flow of Problematic Materials
Construction
Our flexible screw conveyors can be seamlessly integrated into an existing setup, whether fed directly from sack tip stations, storage hoppers, FIBC dischargers, or other material handling equipment. While the base model provides reliable material transfer capabilities, at Powder Conveyor we offer additional features, such as additional agitation or quick-release mechanisms, to address specific operational needs, ensuring unmatched performance and versatility across all industries. Additionally, a variety of polish finishes can be requested, including welds as laid, standard, crevice-free, and mirror (0.2Ra), to ensure optimal hygiene standards and regulatory compliance.
Flexible Conveyors offer unparalleled versatility and durability, manufactured from a selection of materials tailored to meet the demands of a diverse range of industries from plastics to food, pharmaceutical and chemical. Constructed with durability in mind, our screw conveyors are constructed in mild steel, 304 stainless steel, or 316 stainless steel variants, each boasting distinct advantages to suit specific application requirements. These materials include the construction of any inlets, outlets, hoppers, lids, agitators, connection flanges and drive shafts.
- Mild steel (or low-carbon steel): A composition of iron, carbon, and manganese, it is a low-cost construction material known for its ease of shaping, making manufacturing this steel alloy cost-effective as it is easy to manipulate. Mild steel is not suitable for food contact or pharmaceutical processes.
- 304 stainless steel: An alloy composition containing 18% chromium and 8% nickel, is the most common construction material worldwide due to ease of fabrication, resistance to acidic and caustic solutions, and reduced risk of intergranular corrosion.
- 316 stainless steel: Typically used in food and pharmaceutical processes as 316 Offers a heightened resistance to corrosion and sodium chloride (NaC1) based substances compared to 304 stainless steel. 326 stainless steel is also easier to fabricate, weld, and is easier to clean.
To further enhance operational efficiency, our flexible screw conveyors feature easy-clean capabilities, including quick-release mechanisms, to reduce downtime and maximise productivity. Trantec remains committed to adhering to stringent regulatory standards, collaborating closely with the EC, USDA, FDA, and 3-A dairy food contact legislation to ensure compliance with current requirements.
Regardless of the manufacturer, all Flexible Screw Conveyors will have the same components. These include:
- Inlet (where materials are deposited) and corresponding connection flanges.
- Spiral auger that is cut to length with a section profile that is dependant on material properties and requirements.
- Dust-tight UHMWPE outer tube cut to length and size to match the spiral auger. UHMWPE is an approved material for extrusion and is the number one choice for conveying tubes due to its low friction, chemical resistance, and overall high wear resistance.
- Outlet (where materials are dispensed from) and connection flanges.
- Drive shaft with a motor adapter.
- Three-phase electric motor, 50/60hz – typically AC or DC (AC for higher RPMs).
The majority of our components are now produced in-house from specifically selected materials. Trantec can advise on the pros and cons of all, with full traceability available upon request.
Agitation Devices For Poor Flowing Materials
An agitation device serves as a crucial component when dealing with poor-flowing materials. To prevent material build-up, which can impede production efficiency, incorporating an agitator ensures constant conditioning and disruption of the material, to maintain a smooth flow. A contra-rotating agitator blade mechanism is typically employed; however, other agitation methods are available. The material’s flow properties are carefully considered to ensure the right agitator style is equipped to ensure optimal performance. Vibratory agitation is occasionally used for certain powders and granular materials that cannot flow with traditional techniques but are not commonly required as our agitation devices are independently driven, this provides precise control of rotation speed and product conditioning levels. Below are examples of common issues faced with poor-flowing materials.
Rat-holing: The term given to materials that form a hole above the spiral auger or the hop
Bridging (or arching): When powders form a bridge or arch above the spiral or discharge point in the hopper, causing similar issues to rat-holing, preventing material from dropping and entering the inlet for conveying.
Such challenges underline the necessity for equipment capable of managing these complexities effectively. Trantec agitators are designed to ensure continuous agitation and provide an even flow of material by preventing the formation of rat-holing and bridges.