ZMC stainless steel chains from BMG support hygiene and durability in food and pharma sectors
BMG’s comprehensive range of power transmission components includes Italian-manufactured ZMC industrial conveyor chains, engineered to deliver dependable performance across diverse applications, particularly in food and pharmaceutical production and packaging. “BMG’s ZMC solutions for the food and beverage sector span the full value chain—from processing raw ingredients to baking, bottle washing, packaging, and safe distribution,” says Carlo Beukes, business unit manager for BMG’s Power Transmission division. “We advise our customers in food and beverage plants to invest in quality-branded conveyor components made from food-compliant materials such as stainless steel. These materials are essential for highly specialised and safety-critical applications in food manufacturing and preparation.”
Why stainless steel is key in conveyor systems
Stainless steel components offer several critical advantages, including corrosion and thermal shock resistance, high durability, resistance to aggressive cleaning agents, and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures, from cooking to freezing. Most importantly, food remains unspoiled when conveyed by non-toxic stainless steel components.
“Stainless steel also has low magnetic permeability and exceptional resistance to both alkali and acidic environments, making it ideal for use in food-grade and cleanroom environments,” adds Beukes.
The ZMC portfolio, manufactured to stringent international quality standards, includes both standard and specialised conveyor chains. These are available from BMG in a wide range of dimensions, mechanical characteristics, and configurations.
Customised chains for critical environments
BMG supplies both metric and imperial ZMC chains with solid, hollow, or extended pins. Variants are available with bushings, rollers, or bearings mounted at the centre of the links. Additionally, some chains feature link holes, allowing for the subsequent assembly of required components. BMG also stocks sprockets, available with or without hubs, matched to every chain type.
ZMC chains for specialised applications, especially in the food, beverage, packaging, and pharmaceutical sectors, are manufactured with precise combinations of materials, heat treatments, surface coatings, and geometries to address highly specific challenges.
BMG’s experts guide the selection of suitable materials and coatings based on operating conditions such as load, speed, temperature, humidity, and exposure to process fluids or steam.
Precision chain assembly for reduced waste
BMG also offers a precision measuring service, enabling chain systems to be assembled with exact length matching. This ensures alignment in dual-strand conveyor systems, significantly reducing product waste and enhancing system reliability.
ZMC stainless steel chains play a critical role in agri-food applications, such as machines that sort fruits and vegetables by size or weight and systems that process and package food products.
Applications in bakery and bottle washing systems
Bakery proofers, an essential component of industrial baking lines for bread, crackers, rusks, pizza, biscuits, and confectionery, benefit from ZMC’s stainless steel conveyor chains. These proofers may incorporate vertical or horizontal conveyors to move trays, tins, or slats, depending on product size, system design, and performance requirements.
Key system design parameters include speed, load capacity, temperature range, and environmental conditions. Using various types of stainless steel, along with specialist coatings and components such as bushings and bearings, ZMC chains can withstand temperatures of up to 500 °C. For baking ovens, the two main chain configurations are horizontal wire net or slats. In wire net ovens, chains are typically made with hollow pins. For slat-based systems, ZMC offers a range of chains with attachments, some featuring protruding pins and outboard rollers. The company’s Mecasec® self-lubricating chain technology supports operations at temperatures of up to 250 °C.
Reliable performance in canning and cleaning
ZMC’s 50 mm pitch chain with protruding pins is recommended for peeling machines in the canning industry, while other designs feature hollow or protruding pins to meet different processing needs.
In bottle washing systems, chains require high strength and wear resistance, often operating without lubrication and while submerged in water with diluted detergents. Chains in this environment are subject to contaminants such as glass dust and paper residues. ZMC stainless steel bottle washer chains are engineered for these challenges and are available with attachments and welded internal screws to fix the crossbars used to transport bottles securely.
Broader industry applications
Beyond food and beverage processing, ZMC conveyor chains are also used in automotive assembly lines, cement manufacturing, timber processing, and sugar mills.
BMG’s Power Transmission division also supports other leading chain brands, including Fenner, Tsubaki, Webb, and Rexnord.
BMG’s ZMC portfolio includes standard and specialised chains manufactured in Italy to rigorous quality standards, available in a wide variety of dimensions and configurations.
