How to choose a SILO?

The long experience accrued in the projecting and manufacturing of silos allows Agritech to satisfy almost every need of customers looking for safe bulk storage solutions, from product loading to its discharge.

This way Agritech has managed to bring forth a large amount of silo models, components and accessories fit for different purposes. Present vademecum is aimed at helping customers in the definition of the ideal technical features for the best possible choice of their silos.

1. The product to be stored: Fiberglass silos are multipurpose containers suitable to be filled with many different products, from compound feeds to meals, from liquid products to pellets and salt. During many years Agritech has developed dedicated solutions for the different products. Therefore, we invite customers to detail their needs so as to obtain advice about the most suitable silo to be used.
2. Volume and quantity: Together with the kind of product to be stored, it is important to determine volumes and quantities. Agritech’s manufacturing technology provides a large choice of volumes for the same model to grant every time the most adequate, individual solution.
3. Loading method: There are many different ways to load silos: mechanically, through the top lid, or pneumatically via a dedicated filling pipe, or even with wheeled screw conveyors and tanks on carriage which can be moved from silo to silo.
4. Discharge methods: The discharge cone is one of the crucial parts of a silo, because it must stand the highest mechanical stress and because stored bulk products are extracted from here to serve different purposes . Agritech supplies more than twenty discharge systems that you can view in the specific technical datasheet.
5. Customization: oIt is also possible to customize the color and the graphics on silos.
6. Resistance to environmental agents: One of the main advantages of fiberglass over other building materials is the high degree of resistance to environmental agents such as rain, snow and saline air which makes fiberglass silos more durable. Agritech Silos can be also specially designed to resist strong winds and earthquakes.
7. Inside or outside smooth surfaces: Depending on the use of silos, inside or outside smooth surfaces may be preferred. The technical advisors of Agritech will help customers making the right choice.

1. Transport: since transport costs may affect the final price of silos quite consistently, Agritech has developed modular silos to grant compact and inexpensive transport on lorries or in containers. Moreover, Agritech has appointed official distributors in many countries to get as close as possible to its customers and optimize freight costs, assembly and assistance.
2. Assembly: silos are delivered “key in hand” on time and according to previously taken agreements . The installation of silos requires qualified personnel being able to set up silos properly and safely.
3. Assistance and maintenance: Agritech is in a position to provide assistance and maintenance both directly or through distributors so as to grant the best performance of its products during all the expected life of them. The personnel of Agritech pays regular visits to the countries where Agritech is present and provides all necessary support both in the sales and after sales phases.
4. Certificates: Agritech is proud of the certificates obtained during its operational years. Following certificates are particularly significant to us: UNI EN ISO 9001-2008 and STATIK.
5. Quality and duration of the investment: When buying an Agritech silo or any Agritech product you can be sure of investing in a piece of equipment made to last at high performance levels for long. Our main goal is avoiding that silos may loose their water tightness or get fissured and that inside stored products may get affected from this, thus causing the investor to buy replacement equipment during repairing time. Our fiberglass processing technology grants reliable and durable products.

The structure of silos is quite simple. During these years Agritech has engineered a number of technical solutions through which every silo can be made fit for any customer’s purpose. To facilitate the choice of the best option we hereunder list the main components of a silo Every silo is anchored on a pad that must be built in compliance with the characteristics of the ground and the load it must stand. The final part of a silo (named “bottom”) from which the content flows out has a conical shape designed to ease the descent of any product. Bottoms can be further provided with a simple slide gate for product gravity extraction or with screw conveyors of different kinds depending on the plant or machinery receiving the product. In the upper part of a silo we have a lid, a loading inlet and an air exhaust to grant the safest conservation of the stored product. The main body of a silo can be made of one single piece (in this case we talk of “monolithic silos”) or it can be split in vertical panels or in horizontal sections depending on which way silos are transported. It is important to stress that, once installed, either monolithic silos or properly assembled split silos grant the very same performance. Every silo can be enhanced by a choice of accessories improving its functionality, such as manholes for inside inspection and cleaning; access ladders to the silo roof or electronic weighing systems. One more aspect to consider is the choice between inside or outside smooth silos. This depends on the manufacturing technology of the chosen model and may have an influence on the functionality of the silo. Basing on this short description you can understand the added value of Agritech having technicians able to recommend every time the best options for the most adequate and cost efficient choice of the silo at the moment of the purchase order as well as during the life of the product .