H L Perfitt

Stonemasons highlight key gains with self-contained blast room from Mac’Ants

Significant benefits are being reported by specialist stonemasons, H L Perfitt Ltd., as a result of a dedicated blast room facility supplied by the Mac’Ants Group. The container-based unit installed at the company’s Diss premises in Norfolk, has enhanced service capability bringing significant benefits in terms of ease of operation and speed – key factors in H L Perfitt’s success record in its field.

Designed for ease of transportation, the self-contained 20ft blast room unit has been supplied by Mac’Ants complete with propulsion, extraction and filtration capability. The unit is allowing H L Perfitt to bring a range of work pieces – up to three tonnes in weight – into an enclosed environment where it is subjected to aluminium-oxide blasting. This material is also supplied by Mac’Ants in a range of different grades and ranges to suit specific application needs.

“One of the key factors of the blast room design is a floor-mounted collection and recovery capability which operates via a vacuum system linked to a media separator,” comments Mac’Ants Director, Kent Martin. “This allows the customer to recycle aluminium-oxide until only fines remain for safe disposal which clearly helps maximise the cost effectiveness of the blast material.” He points out that because the operation is conducted within a purpose-designed environment, adverse impact on the surrounding area is significantly minimised.

“We use a range of materials including granite, marble and limestone which are subjected to surface treatment as well as inscription and etching of letters when appropriate,” comments H L Perfitt’s Managing Director, Richard Rackham. “Each work piece is brought into the blast room via a trolley, or a forklift truck for the heavier items, and then subjected to relevant processes – using hand-held pneumatically-charged nozzles – which are now conducted efficiently and far more quickly than alternative methods.

“Alongside lower capacity blasting facilities which we use for smaller scale operations, the installation of the Mac’Ants blast room has given us a wider breadth of process options which, we believe, has enhanced the quality of service we offer to our customers.”

Supplied by Mac’Ants complete with full operator training the versatility and capability of the self-contained blast room has, to date, demonstrated key benefits both to H L Perfitt and, perhaps more importantly, its customers.