A mobile high viscosity transfer pump to help Startup with testing and production
In our latest case study , we ’ re delving into the world of vegan leather – innovative alternatives to animal and plastic leathers which are more sustainable and have less impact on the environment .
This client of ours designs and produces transformative , sustainable biomaterials like vegan leather from natural resources like collagen , herbal extracts , minerals and oils .
They approached us with a need for a mobile high viscosity transfer pump to help test and ramp up their production of these sustainable biomaterials .
A massive growth market
According to a 10-year market forecast by Cambridge-based tech analysts IDTechEx , the vegan bio-based leather industry will grow by around 37.4 % from 2024 to 2034 .
What did our client need ?
Our start-up client got in touch asking for advice on the best way for them to begin process testing , production and small-scale manufacturing .
The beginning of any testing and prototyping process is full of risks and challenges . Carefully considered plans which look workable on computer screens can often have wildly different outcomes in the real world .
To assist with testing , they were looking for a high viscosity transfer pump which would above all be flexible . It would have to cope with a wide range of operational conditions which would be difficult to predict but could change rapidly during the initial phases .
The pump requirements
They needed a mobile high viscosity pump which would be domestic mains-powered and could handle high viscosity material at elevated temperatures . It should also easily manage solids , be simple to clean between batches and be able to run without fluid .
Initially , the pump might run for just an hour a day . But over time this would increase to several times a day as batches were increased or more tests were carried out .
The mobile high viscosity pump would be handling a low shear , water-based material with viscosity over 35,000cst . It would
To put this in perspective , new technologies developed to create sustainable alternatives to animal and plastic leather have already attracted investment worth over $ 1 billion . In fact , IDTechEx has discovered over 70 companies worldwide who are bringing viable vegan leather products to market .
Most of these businesses have sprung up in the last 3 to 5 years , and range from small startups like our client , to businesses that have secured hundreds of millions of pounds in funding . They are using this to scale up their production of vegan shoes , boots , clothing , fashion accessories and many other innovative new products .
16 FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk