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Fonterra NZ Ltd – Milk Transport

The Brief
Fonterra have an ongoing requirement for safe, efficient transportation of milk from farm to factory, or between Fonterra processing plants.

The Issues
Fonterra’s requirements are very specific; an immense amount of valuable milk has to travel for long distances on rural roads, so its transportation units need to be up to the task.

The Solution
Over the years, NDA has worked collaboratively with Fonterra to develop a design for its milk transport units that meet its particular needs. We’ve developed innovative features such as the drop belly, centre-draining trailer unit, which allows for lower COG and enhances trailer performance and safety.

IXOM Ltd – Chemical Tankers

The Brief
IXOM NZ needed to design and build B-train tanker units for transportation of various chemicals.

The Issues
Some of the chemicals to be transported are highly corrosive, so careful thought was required around materials and design.

The Solution
Inconel 825 material was selected to withstand the chemicals. NDA used its specialist welding procedures, and our qualifications and experience in manufacturing vessels for the chemical industry to ensure that all chemicals could be transported safely.

Westland Milk Products Ltd – Milk Transport Truck & Trailer Units

The Brief
To build truck tanks capable of holding 14,000 litres, allowing milk to be transported from farm to factory on the West Coast.

The Issues
The 4-axle twin steer tractor units were supplied by the client, so the tanks needed to fit correctly.

The Solution
We fabricated the tanks and fitted them to the tractor units, which were then coupled to an 18,000 litre, 4-axle trailer unit designed collaboratively by NDA and Domett. As part of the manufacturing process, we also installed and commissioned a client-supplied milk metering system.

SPX Flow Technologies, Denmark – Cheddarmaster

The Brief
SPX Flow Technologies, based in Denmark, commissioned NDA to manufacture an 8 tonne-per-hour cheese belt as part of upgrades to Fonterra Australia’s Stanhope cheese plant.

The Issues
The machine, comprising four cheese belts, needed to be manufactured in NDA Engineering’s Te Rapa workshop and shipped to Australia.

The Solution
We manufactured and fully assembled the machine in our workshop before dismantling it and shipping it to Australia in three separate sections. As part of the scope, we also removed the old machine before installing and commissioning the new one, and continued to provide support to the factory.

GEA Process Technology Ltd – Powder Dryer

The Brief
GEA commissioned a small 1.5 tonne-per-hour goat milk dryer for Dairy Goat Co-Operative Ltd in Hamilton, with NDA supplying the dryer chamber.

The Issues
To supply the dryer chamber in one piece, including the SFB and air disperser which, at approximately 8.0m outside diameter and nearly 17m overall, was a significant challenge.

The Solution
With our fully equipped workshop and specialist expertise, we were able to deliver on the brief to supply a fully-assembled chamber, which we transported from our Te Rapa workshop to the site.

GE Water & Process Technologies – Brine Concentrators

The Brief
NDA was engaged to manufacture six brine concentrators for Australia’s Queensland Gas Company project in Chinchilla.

The Issues
These were large evaporators – each was 5.0 m in diameter, almost 30m in length, and weighed in at a hefty 110 tonnes.

The Solution
We manufactured the evaporators from a mix of SAF2205 and 2507 materials, with each containing 1500 tubes measuring, on average, 63.5m x 18.0m.

Fonterra Clandeboye (Project Aquila) – Milk Storage Silos

The Brief
Fonterra engaged NDA Engineering to supply and install 15 milk process silos, each with a capacity of 250m3, and five chemical silos of 100m3.

The Issues
We had a short lead time to provide this large amount of work.

The Solution
We began manufacturing the 15 250m3 silos in our Invercargill production facility in April 2017. Incorporating lean principles throughout production, we completed one silo each week. All silos were completed and installed by mid-December 2017.