Flexicon Corp. has doubled the size of the Controls Department at its 90,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility and world headquarters in Bethlehem, PA.

“The expansion allows for the additional staff and workstations needed to produce higher volumes of controls that are more sophisticated,” says John Simonof, vice president.
   
The expansion coincided with the department’s conversion from mechanical to programmable logic relays (PLRs), said to reduce the cost, size, and potential failure associated with analog timers and hard relays, while adding digital programmability to individual equipment functions. The department also employs programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for more sophisticated equipment such as weigh batching systems, pneumatic systems, and plant-wide bulk handling systems.
   
A new area equipped with simulated scale systems, electric motors, various sensors, and other production-scale inputs and outputs allows 100% bench testing of monitoring and control functions.
   
According to Simonof, smart controls allow simple programming of equipment functions by the customer, and e-mailing of programs to and from the Controls Department for troubleshooting, reinstallation, or customization.
   
In November 2007, the company doubled the size of its Engineering Department and increased engineering personnel by 50%.

Flexicon manufactures mechanical conveyors, pneumatic conveying systems, bulk bag unloaders, bulk bag conditioners, bulk bag fillers, bag dump stations, lift-and-seal drum dumpers, weigh batching and blending systems, and automated plant-wide systems for handling of bulk chemical, food, dairy, and pharmaceutical products.

For information, visit www.flexicon.com.