Old equipment receives a much needed upgrade

In the remote, mountainous region of Adamawa in Cameroon lies a small filling plant owned by SCDP (Société Camerounaise des Dépôts Pétroliers). Located in the regional capital of Ngaoundere, this plant services the entire region. However, in 2015, this plant suffered from an inability to meet demands. The existing equipment, which had been in operation for many years, was no longer up to the task. Low capacity and poor insulation, among other issues, resulted in the production falling short by 250 cylinders - daily! No small number in this area of the world.

To remedy the situation, SCDP chose Kosan Crisplant Cameroon to provide an upgrade of the old equipment. A new compressor with a capacity of 700L was installed, providing additional load to the filling units. Two check scale units replaced the old mechanical scales, and eight brand new Kosan Crisplant Universal Filling Machines (UFM) were connected to the existing LPG piping.

In order to meet the demands of the region, the plant had to be able to fill cylinders of various shapes and sizes. Therefore, of the eight UFM's, five were designed for small scale cylinders of 6 and 12.5 kg, one was designed for large scale cylinders of 35 to 50 kg, and the final two were fitted with three different filling heads for small scale cylinders: centre valve, screw valve, and a primus filling head for camping cylinders.

Everything should be in order then, right? Well, as it often happens, not everything went according to plan. When the first shipment of machines arrived, the technicians discovered that the wires on one check scale unit had been eaten by rats! Even rodents appreciate quality equipment, it seems. The wires had to be trimmed to remove the chewed-up parts, and fortunately the technicians were still able to connect the equipment.

That was not the only challenge, however. Upon installation, the technicians discovered that the existing pipework, with its 3/4'' width, did not match the new gas stop valve's 1/2'' pipe. The technicians were able to overcome this, however, by salvaging parts from the existing SIRAGA filling machines and using reduction fittings to form a solid connection. Perhaps this is one of the first known examples of KC and SIRAGA cooperation since the two companies came under the same banner?

With the initial challenges overcome, the filling plant in Ngaoundere is now able to meet the demand of the entire Adamawa region, as well as parts of the north and far north regions.