Finding metal contaminants in your food isn’t only “annoying” and unappetizing. It also poses serious risks to your health, especially if ingested. This unfortunate scenario recently became a reality for a national breakfast food company, which resulted in a massive product recall. There is something that could’ve prevented this public relations nightmare – accurate and dependable ferrous metal removal and separation.  Magnetic Separators and Belt Magnets eliminate the presence of ferrous and some non-ferrous metals in a process flow, or as a packaged item, and allows you to remove the contaminated product.

Shields Magnetics Offers Magnetic Separator Solutions for the Food Industry that Keep Products Safe for Consumers

In efforts of damage control, the breakfast food company tried hard to protect the brand, and attempted to assure customers of their commitment to safety. However, this incident will likely have a lingering impact on the company’s reputation. This all could have been avoided if they had been using the proper magnetic separation equipment on their processing line.

Metal is the most common foreign material found in food processing. This is why it’s so important for companies to detect and remove these hazardous contaminants before the product is packed and shipped. When contaminated food reaches the open market, it can have devastating consequences for both the company and their customers.

Using the right magnetic applications (belt magnets, conveyor magnets, drum magnets) (along with regular testing and maintenance) is the only way to keep food products pure and safe for consumers. Shields Magnetics belt magnets are used in food plants to ensure the purity of your product, while protecting your valuable machinery from damage. Having magnetic separator applications that can handle both fresh and frozen meats is crucial to the success of businesses in the food industry.

Our cross belt magnetic separators are perfect for applications in either in-installations where space is limited. “One Stop” sizing means many of our conveyor magnets are custom-made for the unique needs of your application. Our larger Stationary Separators use “Tri-Polar Magnetic Circuitry, which eliminates peripheral magnetic leakage so all of the force field is directed straight down to where it’s needed most. This is exclusive to the industry.

For more information about which magnetic separators are best for your application, please contact Shields Magnetics Co. to speak with a sales representative. We look forward to hearing from you and discussing how our magnetic separation products can help your business succeed!

Super Strength Type CM3

Auto Load Release Conveyor Magnet for High Volume Industrial Flow

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Cross-Belt Magnets

Overhead Magnetic Separator for Conveyor Belts

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Grate Magnets

Designed to remove ferrous metal and tramp iron from free-flowing materials such as plastics, foods, cosmetics, grains and minerals.

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The post How Magnetic Separators and Conveyor Magnets Protect Food and Family appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

Yesterday, 3TV reported that dive teams searched a canal near 10th Street and Indian School. While police would not say specifically what they were looking for, the news report showed that police were using large magnetic sweepers to dredge the canal. The magnet shown during the broadcast looks like our multi-surface magnetic broom.

3TV said police have identified 23-year old Aaron Saucedo as a person of interest in the case. Saucedo was arrested in connection with a murder in 2015. Saucedo reportedly lives two blocks away from the canal where dive teams searched, leading to speculation that he could have disposed of evidence in the canal.

Seven people were killed and two others were wounded in the unsolved shootings that happened in Phoenix between March 17 and July 11, 2016. Investigators believe that a total of nine incidents were committed by the same shooter or shooters.

Law enforcement agencies around the world frequently use underwater lifting magnets to search for evidence related to crimes. Here are three other interesting cases involving magnets:

• March 17, 2017: Magnet fisherman finds Derringer in San Francisco lake
• March 5, 2017: Using a powerful magnet, police find SUV lost in Kalamazoo River
• February 27, 2016: Gun found in dunny drop linked to murder and disappearance

Shields Magnetics has provided magnetic sweepers and handheld underwater magnets to law enforcement agencies across the United States.

Please contact us if you work with a law enforcement agency and are interested in learning more about using magnets in your investigations.

The post Phoenix Police Use Magnetic Sweepers in Search for Evidence in Serial Shooter Case appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

Pipelines are not constructed overnight. From the time a pipeline spread is chosen to the time the line undergoes final testing, construction companies take painstaking measures to make sure that the job is done right the first time, with the least impact to the environment.

Now consider the scale: According to US FERC construction-permit applications from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, nearly 2,500 miles of pipeline were proposed for land construction. That is the highest level since 2,700 miles were proposed in 1998. According to Oil & Gas Journal, nine of the spreads in 2016 measured 100 miles or more; four proposed projects included more than 200 miles of pipe each!

As you can imagine, projects of that magnitude demand a lot of equipment. Dozers and trench diggers, pipe-carrying booms, not to mention the welding equipment; it takes an arsenal of machinery to complete the construction of a single pipeline spread.

How Magnetic Sweepers Help American Pipeline Workers

All that equipment needs to stay running. Rogue pieces of metal can cause flat tires or get into other equipment and cause malfunctions. Flat tires and equipment failures are expensive. While there is no specific data on the cost impact of equipment failure for pipeline construction projects, the costs are obvious. Any delay in work results in lost man hours and projects fall behind schedule.

There’s no better insurance policy to prevent ferrous metal from derailing an oil or gas pipeline construction project than a magnetic sweeper. Mounted on vehicles, magnetic sweepers pick up errant metal that causes flat tires and cause other construction equipment to break down.

Once construction is complete, a pipeline must be integrity tested. Any debris, including metal, in or around the pipeline can negatively affect a test. Handheld magnetic sweepers pick up the smallest pieces of ferrous metal from around pipeline welding sites and trenches before it can ruin a test.

Shields Magnetics is the Go-To Magnetic Sweeper for Several  Pipeline Companies

Shields Magnetics has been serving the oil and gas industry for more than a decade. Companies in the United States and Canada trust our products because they have a lifetime guarantee on magnetic strength and they are made from the highest quality materials. Put simply: they work and they are reliable.

Here’s a short list of pipeline companies who have purchased our products:

• PPS Companies: PipelineSupply.com (Houston, TX)
• Precision Pipeline, LLC (Eau Claire, WI)
• OJ Pipelines (Alberta, Canada)
• Pipeliners Warehouse (Houston, TX)
• Piping & Equipment/Fairmont Supply (Houston, TX)

The post The Role of Magnetic Sweepers in the Oil & Gas Industry appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

YORK – Metal objects lying on the roadway happen.

And so do flat tires when motorists run over those objects.

Maybe by putting large magnets on the back of roader graders, the county can help alleviate more flat tires and other problems in the future.

The theory is that metal garbage lying on the gravel roads would connect themselves to the magnets and workers would remove those items back at the shop – thereby cleaning up debris as they do their regular jobs.
Read more: http://www.yorknewstimes.com/news/picking-up-metal-objects-might-save-tires/article_49620ade-1574-11e5-b953-2303d2547831.html

Well, it’s not a theory. It’s a fact! Our magnetic sweepers use grade-8 permanent magnets — the strongest available. Our magnets are used by road maintenance crews across the United States, and have collected several tons of metal debris over the years. The time and cost savings offered by a single sweeper is astounding! If your municipality is considering adding sweepers to your maintenance fleet, give us a call!

The post Consider Adding Magnetic Sweepers to Your Maintenance Fleet appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

While that is a tremendous waste, there is a huge movement toward reusing and recycling pallets. Innovators are turning unusable pallets into items such as compost bins, lawn furniture, and even small buildings.

Other pallet recycling companies will take unusable pallets, break them down, and build new pallets from the materials. Older pallets that are extremely damaged are crushed and turned into wooden mulch. The mulch is used as playground material, landscaping material, and in other applications.

To manufacture mulch, pallets are collected and then placed in a series of grinding steps. The multi-step grinding ensures that the pallet material is turned into the proper texture. In-between grinding steps, the mulch passes along a series of conveyor belts. During this stage of the process, crossbelt magnets separate nails from the wood, ensuring that the end product is safe for popular uses. Here’s video of a pallet grinder in operation:

Another advantage to recycling pallets is the revenue savings. Companies that reuse or recycle pallets avoid paying landfill fees, and potentially receive monetary compensation for the recyclable materials.

The post Crossbelt Magnets Play Role in Pallet Recycling appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

Each year, OSHA fines construction companies millions of dollars for safety violations. Most common citation issued by OSHA is for “duty to have fall protection”. However, they also fine construction companies for using lifting magnets that do not include a load rating and also using magnets that do not have a protective toggle on the control switch.

In December 2011, a company was hit with $54,600 in proposed fines for the above violations after a worker was injured when a lifting magnet malfunctioned and dropped 2,900 pounds of steel on the worker’s arm. Magnets without a load rating or a locking mechanism can be purchased at a much lower cost, but this cost savings comes with an extremely large risk to workers’ safety.

All Shields Lifting Magnets have an explicit, built in safety factor of 3.3 times the rated load. This means that the safety factor is 3.3 times the maximum rated load for each model of lifting magnet. This is a safety rating, and no magnet should ever be used for any application that exceeds its maximum rated load. Additionally, our magnets feature a spring-loaded safety lock; the magnet stays engaged until you release it.

To lift larger, heavier and more cumbersome loads, we advise purchasing additional lifting magnets and using them in conjunction with accessories like spreader bars or vertical lifters. For more questions about lifting magnets, or the correct equipment for your construction application, please call 1-800-799-4408.

The post Why Cheap Lifting Magnets Should Be Avoided appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

The course is harrowed, rolled and graded each day following morning training to ensure that track conditions are ideal for the race. Track conditions are such a critical component, that the status of the course is updated daily on the Churchill Downs website.

The video below gives you an idea of what a track looks like when it is prepped, and the sort of impact that hooves have on the racing surface.

Even with regular maintenance, unwanted items find themselves embedded in the dirt. Several other race courses, including the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in California use our tow behind magnets to remove metal debris from the track and surrounding areas. Other smaller, handheld sweepers are useful for cleaning stables. These smaller sweepers can also be stored in horse trailers and taken along to facilities where a horse is temporarily kept during transport.

Most Kentucky Derby contenders have a value of at least $100,000. There are some exceptions, like last year’s winner California Chrome, who was bred for just $10,000 and had earned $1.1 million prior to winning the race. Getting a horse to the Derby is incredibly challenging, as the horses are young.

A horse is required to be a three year old, meaning that they usually have less than a year of racing under their belt. At a year old, they a trained to get used to the weight of a saddle and eventually a rider. They also begin getting accustomed to the starting gate.  In their second and third year, more time is spent training on a track and racing against other horses. Then to qualify for the Derby, they have to earn points in qualifying races.

Given the amount of time and money invested on thoroughbred race horses, the cost of a magnetic sweeper is a small fee for the piece of mind it gives the horse owner and trainer.

Track operators should think of magnetic sweepers as an insurance policy for trainers and their horses. Regular sweeping ensures that horses will not get metal debris lodged in their hooves. Even one injury cause by metal debris could permanently damage the reputation of a horse racing or boarding facility.

The post Things to Think About: The 141st Kentucky Derby appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

Now the bad: the same researchers found that the number of days with a large number of tornadoes is actually increasing. Basically, those severe weather days are more active when they do occur.

If you live in an area affected by tornadoes – primarily what is called Tornado Alley – South Dakota south to Texas, you may agree with the findings of this study.  A separate survey conducted by Harris Poll found that only 16% of Midwesterners have taken steps to prepare for a disaster, including creating an emergency supply kit, establishing a family meeting plan, and safely storing important documents.

That number is startlingly low given the higher likelihood of a weather caused disaster.

Emergency supply kits contain basic items such as food, water, flashlight and batteries, a radio, matches, an emergency blanket and a first aid kit. We’d like to add one more item to the list of things you put in your emergency supply kit: a magnetic sweeper.

Tornadoes that strike populated urban areas leave behind a path of destruction riddled with metal debris. Roofing nails and other twisted metal debris causes flat tires, and can hurt the feet of people, pets and livestock.

The article “Twenty-two Minutes Over Topeka” published in the March 1967 issue of Popular Mechanics detailed a particularly deadly tornado that struck the Kansas capital. The article detailed how fire trucks and many other emergency response vehicles were forced to drive on flat tires because they had picked up large amounts of metal debris.

While tire technology has improved, there will always be flat tires following tornadoes. The best solution is to get that metal debris picked up as quickly and efficiently as possible. And the best tool for that job is a magnetic sweeper.

For the homeowner, a handheld sweeper is probably the right choice. For farmers and ranchers, a vehicle mounted or tow behind unit allows for picking up metal debris over a large area much easier. For municipal teams, such as sanitation and transportation departments, vehicle mounted and tow behind models are popular solutions.  While purchasing this type of equipment has an initial cost, the savings over time can be tremendous as it can greatly reduce the number of man hours required for cleanup.

The post Add a Magnetic Sweeper to Your Disaster Response Kit appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

He loves Ironman so much in fact that he decided the best way to show his appreciation was to try and turn himself into iron.

Jonah is also gullible however, and upon the advice from some kids at school, he began eating metal shavings daily in an attempt to turn his skin to iron. And because his father operates a metal fabrication shop out of the family’s garage, he had easy access to a virtually unlimited supply of metal shavings.

“My mom always told me, ‘you are what you eat,’ Jonah told Milwaukie’s WDJT-TV News. “I thought eating iron would help turn me into Ironman.”

Cooperman also showed the tv station some of the cool Ironman gadgets he has been working on in his bedroom. He’s started a rocketboot prototype, and a helmet with a heads-up display that relays all of the same type of information that the movie character has in his helmet. While the movie is fiction, Jonah has been hacking a pair of discarded Google Glasses he found at his local Goodwill store.

Then there’s his test magnet.

“I knew that if I started to turn metal, I would be magnetic.” I use this handheld retrieving magnet to test the iron content of my skin. Of course I am most magnetic around my stomach, as the iron I ate most recently has not been digested yet.”

With the reporter still skeptical, Jonah went to the silverware drawer in his kitchen, and began tossing silverware into the air and having it stick to his body.

Tests revealed that Jonah was not just magnetic, he had some serious pulling power; approximately 200 pounds per inch as tested by the Wisconsin State Department of Weights and Measures!

Jonah thus far has not displayed any ill effects from consuming metal shavings. He says his favorite ways to eat them is to mix them with cereal and says that they taste just like chicken!

In a separate press release published April 1, 2015 Shields Magnetics announced plans to hire Jonah its latest spokesperson stating, “He’s the most magnetic person we have ever met! If only this story were true. . . . .APRIL FOOLS.”

This hoax was inspired by an actual report that aired in November 2014 on Russian TV and was also covered by the NY Post.

The post How an 11-Year Old Wisconsin Boy Became Magnetic appeared first on Shields Magnetics.

Use of Recycled Materials in U.S. Highways at All-Time High
Thirty-eight states recycle concrete as an aggregate base; 11 states recycle it into new portland cement concrete, according to a 2004 FHWA study.

Recycled aggregate has proven to be a durable alternative to virgin aggregate, and it is less expensive. In 2011 alone, recycling of American roads saved more than 21 million barrels of asphalt binder and taxpayers more than $2 billion.

However, the recycled aggregate is only useful if it is clear of ferrous metal and other foreign debris. That’s where products like our crossbelt magnets and head pulleys come in. These devices separate ferrous metal from the crushed rock before it is combined with water and binding agents. In some situations, magnetic pulleys are used in conjunction with belt magnets as an insurance policy to ensure no metal remains in the aggregate stream.

Need an overhead separator? Use this form to determine the specific size of the unit you need

Sustainability Rocks
Recycling concrete provides sustainability in several ways. First, recycled aggregate reduces the amount of material that ends up in landfills. Second, using recycled concrete reduces the need for virgin aggregate. This reduces the environmental impact from aggregate mining. Also, recycled aggregate absorbs a large amount of carbon dioxide from the surrounding environment! Finally, the steel that is reclaimed through the recycling process can be sold and reused in other applications.

The post How Industrial Magnets Help Build Greener Roads appeared first on Shields Magnetics.