Industrial drying for Wisconsin manufacturers.

We work with dairy, cheese and whey processors; cranberry and fruit processors; potato and vegetable plants; corn, grain and milling; soybean and oilseed processing; breweries, distilleries and ethanol plants; meat, poultry and rendering; animal feed and pet food; ginseng and specialty crops; wood, forestry and biomass; pulp, paper and packaging; chemicals; pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals; municipal and industrial sludge; recycling and RDF; foundries; and construction minerals.

Yes. Through the Dried & Tested pilot program, representative material can be evaluated to establish drying behaviour, operating conditions and a practical design basis before final equipment selection.

There is no single product certification like Europe's CE marking. Workplace safety falls under federal OSHA standards, including machine guarding (29 CFR 1910.212), lockout/tagout (29 CFR 1910.147) and electrical safety (Subpart S). Heated dryers are normally engineered to NFPA 86, Standard for Ovens and Furnaces, which explicitly covers dryers, and plants handling combustible dust follow NFPA 660. Wisconsin's electrical, boiler and building codes, enforced by the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) and local inspectors, and your insurer can add further requirements.

OSHA requires electrical equipment used at work to be approved, which in practice usually means listed or labeled by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) such as UL, CSA or Intertek, or field-evaluated. Industrial control panels are commonly built and labeled to UL 508A. Custom equipment can also be accepted through a field evaluation or by the local electrical inspector, so the approval route should be agreed with your inspector and insurer early in the project.

Documentation can include English operating and maintenance manuals, general arrangement drawings, P&IDs, electrical schematics, control narratives, bills of material and spare-parts lists, and risk-assessment inputs that support your lockout/tagout and safety procedures. Other languages for operator training can be discussed.

Wisconsin's electrical code, chapter SPS 316, adopts the 2023 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) with state amendments, in force from September 1, 2026. Industrial machinery wiring commonly follows NFPA 79, control panels UL 508A, and most US plants supply 480 V, three-phase, 60 Hz power. Motors, drives and NEMA-rated enclosures should be specified for the site supply and environment.

NFPA 660, Standard for Combustible Dusts and Particulate Solids (2025 edition, effective December 6, 2024), consolidated the earlier NFPA 61, 652, 654 and 664 requirements. It calls for a dust hazard analysis (DHA) and suitable prevention and protection measures, with explosion venting and isolation typically designed to NFPA 68 and NFPA 69. Areas with combustible dust or flammable vapour are classified under NEC Articles 500 to 506, which governs electrical equipment selection, and OSHA enforces dust hazards through its Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program. Material explosibility data should be established before final design.

Pressure vessels and boilers are built to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII for pressure vessels and Section I for power boilers. In Wisconsin, chapter SPS 341 requires installation registration with DSPS and periodic inspection by a certified inspector, generally at least once every 36 months for pressure vessels. Steam coils, heat exchangers and thermal-oil systems should be classified early so ASME stamping and registration are planned.

OSHA's general industry standards cover machine guarding (29 CFR 1910.212), lockout/tagout (1910.147), permit-required confined spaces (1910.146) for entry into dryer chambers, walking-working surfaces for platforms and stairs (Subpart D) and electrical safety (Subpart S). Guarding, access, emergency stops and isolation points should be designed into the dryer layout from the start.

Yes. Product-contact materials should meet FDA food-contact requirements, and FSMA preventive controls rules for human food (21 CFR Part 117) and animal food (21 CFR Part 507) expect sanitary design that supports your hazard analysis. Dairy equipment commonly follows 3-A Sanitary Standards, and Wisconsin dairy plants are licensed by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Product-contact materials, seals, cleanability and documentation should be defined for the specific application.

A dryer that emits dust, VOCs or combustion gases may need a Wisconsin DNR air pollution control construction permit under chapter NR 406 before construction starts, and later an operation permit, unless an exemption applies. Drying and use of municipal biosolids fall under EPA rules in 40 CFR Part 503 and Wisconsin's NR 204. Condensate or scrubber water can also affect your WPDES wastewater permit.

Start with the material: feed rate, inlet and target moisture, particle or sludge behaviour, temperature limits and explosibility. GEM Drytech then tests representative samples where useful, builds the evaporation and energy balance, and reviews the code path with your EHS team, insurer and inspectors (electrical, boiler, fire and air permits) before the design is frozen.

Typical cases are NRTL listing or field evaluation of electrical equipment, ASME stamping with an Authorized Inspector for pressure vessels, state or local inspection of electrical and boiler installations, and insurer approvals for fire and explosion protection. The exact requirements depend on the equipment and the site.

They become mandatory when adopted into law or code, for example the National Electrical Code through SPS 316 and the ASME code through SPS 341, when OSHA or the fire code references them, or when your insurer or contract requires them. Otherwise they serve as recognised good engineering practice and usually define what inspectors expect.

Yes. Motors, drives, instrumentation, PLC/HMI controls, NEMA-rated enclosures and UL-listed components for 480 V, 60 Hz supply can be specified during project engineering, together with drawings, manuals and the inputs your team needs for permits and inspections.

Please share the material name and composition, feed rate, inlet moisture, required final moisture, operating hours, particle or sludge characteristics, temperature limits, available heating source, electrical supply, Wisconsin plant location and intended use of the dried product.

Yes. The preferred heat source depends on material sensitivity, evaporation load, utility availability, energy cost, emissions, plant integration and the final dryer configuration.