Polydeck has long been innovators in the world of modular media and continue to be a pioneer in the screen media space as a company focused on creating a more sustainable future. Recognizing the importance of balancing environmental, social, and economic factors with growth, Polydeck has incorporated a sustainability mindset throughout every aspect of its operations. By focusing on creating a better world for future generations, Polydeck's comprehensive approach to sustainability has resulted in numerous environmental and social benefits for the company, its employees, and its customers.

Zero-Waste-to-Landfill: A Success Story

Polydeck's sustainability initiatives began with a targeted effort on repurposing waste material to divert it from landfills. Through recycling, cleaning, and recovering excess materials, Polydeck has managed to redirect over 90% of its waste away from landfills while also incorporating a percentage of recovered material into auxiliary products. As a result, Polydeck is providing benefits to both the environment and its customers through the cost savings generated by their efforts.

Responsible Sourcing: A Commitment to Ethical and Sustainable Practices

Polydeck's dedication to sustainability is further evident in its responsible sourcing practices. The company has forged strong partnerships with suppliers who share its commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. Polydeck is dedicated to working with suppliers that uphold the highest standards in labor, ethics, environmental responsibility, and human rights. By prioritizing responsible sourcing, Polydeck can provide environmentally friendly and socially responsible products to its customers, reinforcing the importance of sustainability throughout the entire supply chain.

Community Engagement: A Pillar of Social Responsibility

Polydeck understands that a commitment to sustainability extends beyond its own operations and reaches into the local community. The company actively supports local organizations and initiatives that promote education and social responsibility. For example, Polydeck partners with local schools and non-profits to provide education, food, clothing, and other wellness needs to help people create a better future for themselves.

Employee Development: The Key to Driving Sustainability

Investing in employee growth and development is a cornerstone of Polydeck's sustainability strategy. The company's training and development program empowers its employees to make well informed business and personal decisions while creating a safe and productive work environment. Polydeck’s training program includes coaching, leadership training, skills training, and other professional development opportunities to help team members grow and succeed within the company and their personal lives.

Polydeck's Ongoing Commitment to Sustainability

Polydeck's sustainability journey is an ongoing effort that started through the continuous improvement efforts engrained in the company’s culture and core values of Caring, Excellence, Integrity, and Humility. Polydeck is committed to helping create a more sustainable future to serve their customers and stakeholders with excellence and conduct business in a way that cares for people and honors God. When you choose to partner with Polydeck, you choose a company that stands for a greener, more responsible future. Upgrade sustainably. Upgrade with Polydeck.

From the outside, Polydeck may just seem like a company focused on delivering innovative, high-performance solutions. However, beneath the surface, we are a team of superheroes providing world-class quality, service, and support to our customers. Together strong, our team of superheroes understand the specific challenges you face and how to help you overcome them to achieve maximum performance.

We’re ready to save the day

Most of our outside team have been in your shoes, so not only do they know what you need, but they also understand the frequency of empty promises you may have received. At Polydeck, we say what we will do, and then we do it. We are committed to you and your operation’s success.

We have secret weapons

The Polydeck team has key strategies in place to ensure victory for your performance. Our superheroes can piece together the whole picture to get you what you need, right when you need it. They can access our distribution centers and unlock specific inventory to deliver to you in a pinch. They can track orders and offer other bits of critical information, such as when cranes or crews are scheduled. The multitude of what our team of superheroes can do to serve you are endless.

We can do this all day

They might not be as well-known and tough as Captain America, but our team is constantly doing whatever possible to achieve a win for you: from training new staff on panel changeouts, delivering panels in order to avoid freight delays, or to taking the time to give your crew a complete system overview before the work begins.

We can adapt to anything

Our people know screens and media, so it doesn’t matter what media type or brand of screen you currently have installed. Our team of experts can still come in to inspect and survey your process to help you troubleshoot and improve performance.

We’re your super-friends!

You can call on us for anything. Need something on an impossible timeline? We have a Polydeck superhero for that. Need to exceed your current production rates? We’ve got a superhero for that, too. Our super team will work around the clock and give every effort to help you achieve your goals.

In the Aggregate and Mining Industries, high volumes of rock and ore are produced and processed each day.  It is critical to know the exact sizes of the rock in each product or process stage for the following reasons:

• The salable products typically need to meet State or Federal Specification requirements, and
• Process specifications help optimize the efficiency of commodity recovery and reduce downtime in the plant. 

However, counting and measuring each stone or particle by hand is not a scalable solution for the size of these operations, so these industries depend on using Sieve, or Gradation, Analyses to determine the average material sizes of the overall product by periodically sampling the larger process stream.

Terms and Standards Used in Sieve Analysis

Before getting started, it is important to define some of the key terms and standards used when conducting a sieve analysis.  These terms are not used in common vernacular and are critical to the steps and processes that follow.

Key Terms

• Gradation: The particle size distribution of an aggregate.
• Sieve: A device used for separating the sample by particle size.
• Fraction: The portion of the sample retained on each sieve.
• Shaker: An instrument to mechanically separate particles by size.
• Percent Retained: The percentage of material retained above each sieve size.
• Percent Passing: Percentage of total material that passed through each sieve.

Identifying industry standards

ASTM International, previously American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international organization that produces technical standards.  Using Industry Standards ensures that the test will be conducted uniformly between plants, which yields a level baseline of products between each unique site conducting the test. Below are two standards that may be used as resources for sample reduction and conducting Sieve Analyses, which include guidelines and tips on each process.

• ASTM C136: Standard test method for Sieve Analysis of fine and coarse aggregates
• ASTM C702: Standard practice for reducing samples of aggregate to testing size

Preparing for the Test

Step 1:

The first step in conducting a successful Sieve Analysis is starting with a well collected, dry sample.

If the sample is wet, the material will not flow freely or separate properly. Thus, it is important to dry the sample in an oven with a temperature ≤110°C. Dry times vary by material type, sample size, moisture content, and oven efficiency, so check the sample intermittently until it is dry and free flowing.

Step 2:

After a sample has been dried, a preliminary weight is needed. With the pan in place, tare the scale; if the scale does not have a tare option, the pan will need to be weighed separately to be subtracted from the sample weight.

Using a splitter, separate the sample to the appropriate size.  If a splitter is not available, use the cone method to split the sample: Pour the sample into a conical shape and divide the sample into four quarters. Once sectioned, add the sample to the tarred pan to collect a preliminary total material weight.

After the preliminary weight is recorded, the entire sample will be transferred to the top tier of a sieve shaker.

Step 3:

Close the sieve stack and assemble the stack onto the shaker, if applicable, making sure that it is centered on the base and completely nested under the top cover before tightening. Lock/tighten the stack in place. Power on the shaker and set the time.

Conducting the Test: Cumulative Method

The most common method of conducting a sieve analysis is the cumulative method.

Step 1:

Start by removing the top tray and transferring the fraction into the tared pan on the scale. Record the weight of the fraction.

Leaving the material in the weigh pan, repeat the process by removing each subsequent tray and recording the total weight after adding each additional fraction to the weigh pan.

Once each fraction is added and the weights are recorded, compare the final total weight to the preliminary total weight; check for a difference less than or equal to 0.3%.

If the difference is greater than 0.3%, the test will need to be repeated with a new sample.

Step 2:

Calculate the cumulative percent retained for each line by dividing each cumulative gradational weight, as recorded from the test, by the total weight of the sample, and multiplying by 100%.

As an example, 12.6 grams of mass retained would be divided by the total weight of 309 grams to yield a calculation of 4.0% retained.

Step 3:

To calculate the cumulative percent passing, subtract the percent retained values for each line from 100%.

Continuing with the previous example, subtracting 4.0% retained from 100% yields a 96% passing product.

Conducting the Test: Fractional Method

Unlike the cumulative method, the fractional method for conducting a sieve analysis will measure and record each fraction individually. This occurs by emptying the tare pan between each weight. Other than this major difference, the fractional method is very similar to the cumulative method.

Step 1:

Weigh the material in each sieve individually and record the mass; tare the scale before each fraction weight.

Step 2:

Calculate the fractional percent retained for each line by dividing each fractional gradational weight, as recorded from the test, by the total weight of the sample, and multiplying by 100%.

Step 3:

Calculate the percent passing by subtracting the fractional percent retained, along with the fractional percentages retained for all sieves larger than the one under calculation, from 100%

As an example, with a 21.3% retained calculation, 21.3% needs to first be subtracted from 100%. Then, also subtract the fractional percentages that were retained above it. In the example above, that includes 27%, 25.8%, and 4%, which indicate a 21.9% passing.

Helpful Tips for Conducting a Sieve Analysis

When conducting a Sieve Analysis, unexpected events can occur during the process that may need to be addressed and/or accounted for. Download our list of recommendations and mitigation techniques which can aid in successful completion of the analysis.

This blog was adapted from a 2021 educational webinar with Polydeck experts, Craig Burke, director of Engineering, and Jamie Mills, New Product Development Application Engineer. To learn more about upcoming educational opportunities, subscribe to our newsletter.

Polydeck Screen Corporation, the leader in injection molded screen media for the mining industry, is pleased to announce the grand opening of its highly anticipated manufacturing expansion on October 31, 2022, at its Spartanburg, South Carolina headquarters.

The company purchased an additional building with over 36,000 square feet next to its current campus that will help increase capacity and keep up with current and expected future demand.  Along with the additional square footage, the company is also proud to announce that this expansion will bring 35 new jobs to the local area.

“This move signifies the continued growth our company has experienced from customer demand,” states Todd Nalepka, Senior Director of Manufacturing. “Outgrowing our current manufacturing model required us to expand the factory footprint – which has been an exciting challenge for the team.  It enabled team members to think creatively and strategically with how to best position our collective production system for the future.  After evaluating several options, we found that relocating our Rubber Department to a new building would be most optimal. This expansion unlocks growth opportunities for other departments, increases efficiency, and improves safety across the board,” continues Nalepka.

On November 1, 2022, phase one started with the Polydeck Rubber Department moving to the new space. By March 2023, phase one of the project should be complete in order for more departmental shifts and growth opportunities to begin.

Ron Kuehl, President at Polydeck says, “It’s been a special time for Polydeck. With several moving parts, this expansion has required multiple internal teams to work together through effective communication, planning, and scheduling to pull the move off well. Through the commendable efforts and teamwork of these different departments, we project an estimated 7+ years of sustainable growth to accompany the move.”

As a result of the move, multiple departments across several buildings will be reconfigured to allow space for new manufacturing machines needed to meet the projected demand. These changes will increase efficiencies throughout the production process and enable Polydeck to be positioned to maintain its industry leading lead times by controlling material flow through the plant.

April 30-May 3
Palais des Congrès, Montreal, Canada
Booth #3000