We help our customers increase their foam control process chemical efficiency, independence, and profitability in manufacturing operations.
With specializations in all aspects of defoamer process chemicals, we apply 30 years of knowledge in chemical sales and service to reduce your usage costs.
Our Services
FOAM CONTROL CONSULTING
After gathering initial information on your current process setup and goals, we make a visit to your plant and conduct a thorough survey of the defoamer process. During our visit, we focus on accomplishing the following:
Establish flows & recycles
Identify and distinguish between foam and entrained air and their effects on your process
Identify critical points of your process
Review your existing pump feed system to identify pros and cons
Interview management and operators to understand plant-specific capabilities and goals
Following the plant survey, we discuss preliminary options for minimizing foam and entrained air build up. Depending on the situation, we provide the following:
Specific process improvement recommendations based on the level of automation / complexity desired
equipment options that will help achieve plant operations goals
Projected potential cost savings to be realized by implementing the recommended improvements (e.g. less defoamer / antifoam waste).
In some cases, DS ProChem may propose better performing and / or less expensive antifoams & defoamers. DS ProChem does not sell chemicals, but we can run bench tests and monitor trials of alternate chemical options to examine their comparative effectiveness. For more on the benefits of our independent chemical testing, click here.
Once a general path forward is determined, we research equipment options based upon your input, collect quotes for equipment, provide you with a summary of equipment recommendations, and complete a final report with recommendations and specific options to select from. DS ProChem Solutions can also work with plants to monitor the implementation of new feed systems and defoamers.
DEFOAMER EVALUATIONS
While some plants already have effective feed systems in place, they may be able to reduce costs further by replacing existing chemicals with higher performing or cheaper chemicals. DS ProChem can conduct bench scale testing in order to determine the relative performance of products.
This helps our customers as it them from having to rely entirely on their suppliers for information. Customers end up in a much better negotiating position if they have access to relative performance information. If a supplier tests for you and sees that their product works better, a higher price for their product will likely be charged. Having done this testing for over 25 years, you will benefit from our methods and equipment. We can often generate meaningful data and put you in a better price negotiation position. See “Sourcing/Negotiation Services”.
We assist with small or large scale plant trials with the goal of minimizing process variables and we measure/observe defoamer performance. It is beneficial to you to have objective performance data at this stage of the process. The wrong decision can inflate process costs significantly, and this overspend can quickly become difficult to back out of due to familiarity with the product and supply chain predictability. Unintentional bias can creep in with even the best chemical supplier. More importantly, conducting trials independently from your suppliers gives you the knowledge of performance and with the knowledge comes greater leverage during pricing negotiations.
SOURCING / NEGOTIATION SERVICES
When comparing commodity chemicals, your sourcing team can readily evaluate suppliers. But what happens when they work on non-commodity chemicals such as antifoams / defoamers?
Given the varied offerings from suppliers, how can sourcing be expected to make objective evaluations when the names, characteristics, components and performances differ?
Will sourcing have time to closely evaluate both small and larger companies or visit their facilities?
Do they have the depth of knowledge for understanding the many classes of chemical bases that comprise antifoams/defoamers to understand the raw material costs?
With over 30 years experience selling antifoams/defoamers and other specialty and commodity chemicals, we help you negotiate more favorable pricing, terms and/or services.
EQUIPMENT
We advise on various equipment options that can be used to deliver defoamers more efficiently and help implement technology to increase the automation of defoamer feed and tie it into the plant process flows. Common equipment options include standard pump skids, custom pump and valve systems, flow meters, guided wave radars, and foam probes.