In March 2008 I wrote my first blog post about soot blowers. At that time, particularly within the power generation industry, steam soot blowers were the most common means by which plant engineers endeavoured to keep boiler soot and ash build-up under control. 

The sights and sounds recalled by myself and our Technical Director Alex Bergus when we have travelled overseas to visit our acoustic cleaning clients are often colourful and fascinating.

Last year I wrote an article called Silo Cleaning & Stats and explained how our website statistics regularly reflect large numbers of companies searching for silo cleaning solutions.

1 billion tonnes of cement – that's the estimated amount currently produced in the world per annum and with cement production involving the handling and processing of dry powder materials, it is not surprising that plant operatives are constantly on the lookout for solutions to their dry material build up problems.

Most successful outcomes in industry are the result of the 'appliance of science'. The success story I'd like to share with you today is a great example of that, except that it has one more ingredient - the ability to pop and swing!