Specialty Industrial

Work with us to solve persistent power or control system challenges that have held back your machines or operation.

  • Retrofit engineering and manufacturing

    PORT OPERATIONS: Modernizing a defunct 1960s bucket wheel excavator

    • A Great Lakes port operation had a 1960’s bucket wheel excavator that it had used for many years to move material onto conveyors to load barges for transport. Due to the age of the machine, the operations team decided a comprehensive rebuild and electrical upgrade was necessary.

      FLANDERS was chosen for the project because of our extensive experience retrofitting heavy industrial machines with new control systems and electrical systems. Our role was to turn the bucket wheel into an electrically new machine, while another partner rebuilt its entire structure.

      The FLANDERS control and electrical system solution included

      • Engineering a custom control system, including safety PLCs
      • Replacing across-the-line starters with variable frequency drives (VFDs) to mitigate conveyor starting and diesel engine loading issues
      • Designing and building a new operator cab to improve ergonomics and visibility
      • Designing the operator interface for the control system
      • All exterior and interior industrial LED lighting
      • A wireless remote control pendant for machine inspections and operation verification

      The revitalized bucket wheel excavator—rebuilt to 80% new in 12 months—far exceeded the capabilities of the original machine.

  • Specialty machine design

    MARINE EXCAVATION: Designing an inland dredging barge from scratch

    • FLANDERS partnered with a company specialized in large-scale mechanical structures to develop the concept for and assess the feasibility of a new dredging barge design. While such machines already exist, numerous additional project requirements meant we were essentially designing a mining excavator to be mounted on the back of a barge, from scratch.

      Collaborating closely with our client and partners, FLANDERS designed the control systems, auxiliary power system, and motors for the dredging barge. Additionally, because the barge would be operating in remote locations, we developed a detailed field support plan to minimize the impact of routine maintenance and unplanned repairs.