AJE team rises to conveyor challenge
Parts from the old conveyor before the AJE team worked their magic.
An AJE team has been praised for the way it used engineering knowledge and troubleshooting to create a brand-new conveyor system out of an old disused conveyor.
Andy Watt, Ryan Higgins, Calum Openshaw and Steve McRae used their fabrication skills and engineering knowledge to turn an old, scrapped 14-metre-long conveyor and converted it into a working conveyor, with pneumatic lifting arms which enables the Kirriemuir sawmill where it is located to process some of its largest log sections.
Andrew Fyvie and Matt Macpherson jointly managed the works for AJE on behalf of James Jones Limited, but they both agree it was because of the knowledge and skill of the men on site that the job was completed on time and to the client’s satisfaction.
Andrew said: “The conveyor had been removed from the site at James Jones in Forres a couple of years ago and we had it stored at AJ Engineering.
“James Jones had a requirement for a conveyor for its site at Kirriemuir and tasked AJE with the job of using the old conveyor and spare parts to create something that would work at that site.
The conveyor after it had been renovated
“I visited the Kirriemuir site and took measurements for the location of the new conveyor and created layout drawings, however having limited knowledge of this type of engineering I sought help from Andy and his team.”
He added: “Waterford was used for the main fabrication to ensure the new conveyor came in at the correct size, but there was so much more to this project.
“Andy and his team worked at Waterford for three weeks making sure that everything would fit together appropriately, then they spent another two weeks at Kirriemuir putting it all together on site. It was easier for them to be on site and see the space, so they went with the parts and materials to assemble on site. Without the design input from Andy and his squad, it’s safe to say that the job wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”
The project also involved the skill of the CNC shop who were brought in to fabricate cylinders of different sizes for inside existing shafts, which enables the conveyor arms to be linked together. They also had to bore out the insides of the shafts, so they were the correct shape.
“All in all, this project is a great illustration of the skill that we have across the whole team at AJ Engineering,” said Matt.
