We had a very positive week

We have had a good week trying to get caught back up from the snow and then the sickness that went through the plant like wildfire. We still have a ways to go though.   Very pleased with all our advancements.  As you can see in the picture I snapped yesterday the filters look great after cleaning.   There are tons more good ideas, but no time to work on them right now.  The web site redevelopment is taking much more time and effort that I anticipated.  I think it will be worth it though.  Come visit and look at the changes  www.fpfilters.com.  We have had 1200 new visitors already.

Moldy filters

I need to show you the moldy filters sent in for cleaning.  Yes we were able to clean and sanitize them.  Pretty amazing huh?   Our new Tri- Ox machine did the trick. took out the mold, and mold stains.

I think we have just changed everything.

The Tri-Ox machine was started up yesterday.  This is a game changer.  We are now able to kill foreign cells down to the molecular level.  The DNA is actually exploded at the nucleus.  This was verified under a microscope, and a 99.9999% kill was verified.
What does this mean to filter cleaning?
We can clean a filter for the food industry and produce a product that is completely free of mold, fungus, active yeast, and blood-borne pathogens.   Not even a new filter can boast this!

FilterPro has done it again; Truly the Global leader in filter cleaning filters for industry.

What Are We?

I always have trouble when people ask me, "What do you guys do?"

I hem haw and try to answer in a way that is understandable.  I think we finally have it, after years of being in business.
"We are the global leader in sustainable filters.  We are able to process industrial plant filters so they can be re-used, and help keep the waste out of our landfills."

What do you think?
Let me know any input.

Brian

Time moves too fast-

I don't know if you have been in the same boat as us over the last couple weeks.   We have been trying to keep pushing with the new ideas, but all the work is getting in the way.   We have had a large number of testing on new filters, and have also been struggling to keep all the equipment up and running.  I am anxiously awaiting the holiday.    All the new innovation has turned into more of a hobby than a job.  Inventing new stuff is a BLAST!

Lots of Dog Treats

I guess they had a leak in the dust collector.  We are cleaning filters for a pet food company. The filters are full of dog treats.  Not pieces but, whole ones.  I have no idea how a whole dog treat gets inside a dust collector cartridge.
Not just one piece.  Lets put it this way: Roxie, and Dutchess are very happy pets.  Each filter had 25 pounds of product inside. I have enough dog treats to start a packaging line, and sell product.

It is interesting.......Pet food manufacturers have more stringent regulations and requirements than human food manufacturing.    Makes you think.

Life is changing.

As all of the older guys (me included) are retiring and getting out of the way the methods we are using to business are changing.  It used to be that it was all relationship based.  You developed a professional trust with some one, and you became their expert.   More recently with the young graduates moving into the marketplace are changing the landscape.   They want to use a computer.  they want to chat or IM.  The personal touch is leaving the business world.  It is getting tougher to build brand loyalty.  It is intresting to watch this change and to see how companies adapt..  Being old, I still want to know the person I am dealing with.

Makes you Think

I had the chance to sit in the woods Saturday looking for the 10 point white tail.   No, no luck.   It sure gives you a chance to think. A clear head brings on a whole new sense of direction.  I enjoy thinking about the difference we are making by cleaning filters.  Maybe we can keep the woods unpolluted a little longer

holiday thoughts

Here it is again...Time for shut down.  Many of you will be crawling into dust collectors.  Gettin' dirty again.  Be safe............. Have a good holiday.

It is that ime of year

I am sure you have seen the pictures of all the filters sitting outside "Ready to ship".  Cleaned  boxes of cartridges lining the drive waiting on truckers   Winter brings us some interesting challenges, mainly storage. We are designed to flow in and out.  We do not have room for storage unless items are taken to another building.  The filter cleaning orders, and the filter sizes we clean seem to be getting bigger and bigger.
I was just sitting here trying to plan for a change of season. Trying to not miss a detail.    I guess I best get out of the seat and start preparing for winter.  I am transferring to the plant in Porto Rico.  I wish, instead just another cold winter ahead.

Bless all those on the East Coast

I find it difficult to post anything this week.  All We can think about is all the pain and suffering due to the flooding.  Bless all of you.

Chemistry In Use

I can not tell you how important chemistry is in our day to day filter cleaning operation.   I try to tell young people not to take the easy way out.  Study hard.  Work hard. Play Hard.

Others in filtration look down their nose at people that clean filters.  Yes it is a very dirty job. 
Nothing bad, Just dirty.
It take a well educated person to clean a filter.  One must know what dust or dirt is trying to be removed from a filter (chemical make up).   Also a filter cleaner must understand, and have the knowledge to understand how the solvent works to remove the dust, and concentrations required to do a good job.
One method or type of  filter cleaning can be used to get all the different types of dirt out of a filter.

You have to use chemistry to figure out what is in the filter, what the filter is made of,  and what will give you the best results.
We also use physics to understand the timing, and the methodology, and the effects, and bio-science to understand the destroy  mold, mildew, and viruses to the DNA level.

We urge our people to continue their education to post secondary.  Close to 30% are in advanced course level work, and half of this is post graduate work

I would like to challenge those in new filter manufacturing.  When is the last time you had  an employee who studied physics, and chemistry as a emphasis.  Next time you meet a guy that cleans filter maybe you should consider that he quite possibly could be brighter that you.

.

Just because we do a dirty job does not equate to our people being "stuuupid", As my father in law used to say.

Innovation

We are very lucky to have a very innovative person on our team.  Playing around this week with a small tool a brand new technology is found.  This is what sets us ahead.

Carbon Impregnated Filters

Carbon Impregnated filters are used to dissipate static discharge.  Huh?
When static electricity builds up  across a filter (because if the partials passing by the filter) there is a chance that a spark may occur from the fabric of the filter to the nearest steel ground.  This happens much as wearing socks on the carpet and touching metal.  The spark can cause disastrous results in and explosive environment.  A dust as simple as wood can explode into a huge fire.
There are various methods to prevent this.  Screen printing a carbon film on the filter media, weaving in stainless, or carbon wires into the media, or spraying a conductive material on the filter.  The the theory is that the discharge will travel up the filter which is grounded through a separate ground wire or tail.

Don't take a chance.

Cool new toys

Yesterday we installed a new Doppler radar system that controls our waste system.  It will monitor and  help us and collect information on what our usages are.  This is the first step for us to begin developing a water recycling system.  Recycling some of our water is one of our goals for next year.  Lots of challenges with this however, as cross contamination can be a big problem in our industry.

This device will also tell us in gallons the actual usages, and monitor flow rates.  Pretty cool.

Pasturization System Update

Our newly installed pasteurization process is reducing the risk of contamination for food filters.  "The project has performed better than I had ever expected", according to Walker who designed the system.  We are getting results that have been verified by Graduate Students at Washburn University.  "There is nothing alive left." according to one reseacher.

The Pasteurization process will superheat the filters to a set temperature, for a specific time under vacuum conditions to effectively kill all yeast, and mold spores. The entire process is computer controlled, and graphed for documentation.   This combined with the distainer process previously implemented gives double protection to the manufacturer.

This is unheard of in the filtration industry.  Not even a new filter is subjected to this type of sanitation.

Cellouse, or Paper Filters.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand decisions.   We have been cleaning filters for a particular company for about 6 months.  We have been trying to educate them on the polyspun media verses the cellulose filters.  There were two rejects last week when we cleaned their filters. We called them to visit on how much longer a polyspun filter will last in their system, and how much stronger they are.  They still want to purchase the paper.
I really thin this is penny wise,  This would be a perfect opportunity to try out a couple polyspun filters.  Click the link below (youtube) to see the difference yourself.

Vist the youtube visit our website

Dry Pasturization to clean a filter?

Visit our web siteWe made some huge steps this week.   Our dry pasteurization system went on line.  Dry pasteurization at a filter cleaning company?   YES, this is yet another part of our food filter cleaning program.  After the filters are cleaned the filters are inserted into a special chamber that heats them.  Why heat?  Well in a controlled environment dry pasteurization will kill mold, fungus, and yeast spores.  Keeping consistent and controlling the process is the key to success.  The system we installed uses computer controlled and will monitor and adjust the temperature and humidity, and cycle times.  Not only is this accomplished but, all the variables are graphed and documented so our "cleaned food filters" offer yet another  level of safe sanitation.

$6

To much product.

This was dumped out of a filter sent in for cleaning.   Change out your filters prior to them getting this bad.   If you put maintenance off then dust distributes on the clean air side and can be quite a mess to clean up.  Save yourself some money by not shipping dirt to us.

FilterPro web site: