Welcome to this month’s round-up from CFM North East. Here’s what’s been happening, plus a few things we think are worth knowing.
Feature: ACD vacuum cleaners, the complete guide
Flour, sugar, wood dust and other powders end up on the floor of areas that aren’t classified as ATEX zones, and someone still has to clean them up safely. A vacuum turns settled dust into a cloud inside the machine, so even an ordinary room can carry a risk inside the vacuum itself.
Our new guide explains ACD (Appliance for Combustible Dust) and it covers:
🔶 What ACD means and what the standard requires
🔶 How ACD differs from ATEX, and from L, M and H dust classes
🔶 Where ACD machines are used, from bakeries to woodworking shops
🔶 What to check before you buy or hire one
Read the full guide here: ACD vacuum cleaners, the complete guide
Sweeping up, without the dust:
This month, Rich visited a concrete manufacturing facility in Wigton to demonstrate two sweepers in a demanding production environment, a tough test for any machine.
Currently, ten members of the team spend time at the end of every shift sweeping the site by hand, which means breathing in and working through the dust they stir up. The demo showed how that could change.
Firstly, the Viper ROS1300 ride-on sweeper allows one operator to cover the whole main factory floor and yard quickly and efficiently, with the dust kept in the machine rather than in people’s faces.
Secondly, the Nilfisk SW750 pedestrian sweeper, compact and manoeuvrable, is ideal for tighter spaces and harder to reach areas.
Rich said: “It was great to have the team members who would actually be using the machines on site. They saw the equipment in action, got hands-on experience and could picture how each machine would fit into their day-to-day routine.”
Site surveys and demonstrations are a core part of what we offer, there is no better way of understanding your requirement. As you can see from the images the team are inquisitive and want to get involved.
Site visit: Sports Nutrition Manufacturer, Powder Handling and Dust Control
A highlight this month was Rich’s trip to Blackburn to assess the site of a leading food nutrition manufacturer and to work out which vacuums will best suit their needs.
Rich was given a full tour of the facility, and it was an eye-opener. The site is on the scale of an Amazon distribution centre, and it is one of the most impressive operations we’ve visited. The tour took in powder blending and filling lines, high-speed packing and a huge amount of palletised stock.
Where fine powders are handled at this scale, housekeeping matters. Dust has to be controlled at the source and cleaned up safely, and in areas where combustible dust is present, the right equipment makes a real difference. That is where our ATEX-rated industrial vacuums come in, alongside our wider range of cleaning equipment.
We’re now putting together our recommendations for the site and look forward to working with them.
If you’d like advice or a site survey for your own facility, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
Floorcare: Tough stains
A customer wanted to remove paint from a stone workshop floor, and the Truvox Heavy Duty R48 Scarifyer was the ideal machine. Simple to operate and extremely efficient, it’s perfect for tackling rust, paint and soiling, and for removing impacted oil, grease and debris.
Question of the Month: Should we buy, hire or lease?
A question we hear a lot, and the honest answer is that it depends on how you’ll use the machine.
🔶 Buy if the machine will be in regular use for years. You own it outright, though servicing and repairs are down to you.
🔶 Hire for short and long-term jobs, one-off deep cleans, covering a breakdown or a seasonal peak, or trying a machine before committing.
🔶 Lease if you’d rather spread the cost. Leasing allows you to purchase equipment that is important to your business and keep valuable cash in your bank that may be used for other projects that are not as tax efficient. All payments are fixed for the period of the lease.
A good starting point is to ask how often you’ll use it, for how long, and how you’d prefer to manage the cost. If you’re not sure, talk it through with us and we’ll help you work out what makes sense for your site.
Nilfisk Goes Pink for Breast Cancer Now
A vacuum that does a bit of good🩷
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as an approved Nilfisk dealer, we’re pleased to offer the limited edition Nilfisk VP300 R Pink Edition.
For every Nilfisk VP300 purchased through CFM North East, Nilfisk has given £10 to Breast Cancer Now under its partnership with the charity registered in England & Wales (1160558), Scotland (SC045584) and the Isle of Man (1200)
The VP300 R dry vacuum cleaner is engineered specifically for high-use commercial spaces like offices, hotels, and retail environments and it delivers uncompromised performance.
Get in touch today to place your order🩷
The pink limited edition campaign is valid throughout November, get in touch today to place your order🩷
Industrial Vacuums: Demand continues to grow
Following our Blackburn site visit and the steady flow of enquiries we’ve had this month, one thing is clear: more businesses are investing in proper dust control. Demand for industrial vacuums, and ATEX-rated vacuum cleaners in particular, keeps climbing as sites look to protect their people and stay compliant. Whether you need a single machine or a full site solution, CFM North East has the equipment and expertise to help.
Get in touch:
If something in this round-up has got you thinking about your own site, we’re always happy to talk it through.
No hard sell, just honest advice from the CFM team.
Get in touch: Give us a call, drop us an email, or fill in the enquiry form on our website.
We cover Yorkshire, the North East, and beyond. The CFM Northeast Team