January, 2021 - Groupe Somavrac

Optimize Your Chemical Supply Process With UBA

Thanks to UBA, businesses of every size in a variety of industries successfully lower their chemical supply costs by optimizing their chemical procurement and warehousing processes.

What’s more, these same businesses share peace of mind when it comes to managing the inventory of chemicals their manufacturing processes require. UBA solutions also make it easier to improve health, safety, and environmental management in warehouses.

The UBA team has prepared a success story to show you how: simply click here to download it. In it, you’ll discover how one of our customers in the Industrial laundry services leveraged these elements through the implementation of custom warehousing systems run entirely by UBA.

Download the success story

Providing turnkey chemical distribution and warehousing services for over 60 years, UBA is your strategic partner in chemical sales, inventory management, and distribution. Contact us with any questions you may have about our products or services.

5 Reasons to Choose Groupe Somavrac and Its Complete Logistics Service

Excerpted from an interview with Mikael Gagnon, Business Development Manager at Groupe Somavrac since 2017.

We are experts in dealing with chemicals and hazardous materials

We offer full-service product-handling logistics, even for hazardous materials, for industries such as mining or pulp and paper. The Groupe Somavrac team has the equipment and expertise to handle and transform cargo, no matter the specifics (gas, flammable, corrosive, etc.), with the particular skills and knowledge applicable regulations and work methods require.

The company has owned and operated chemical manufacturing plants since 1999. As a result, we’ve developed unique expertise over the years when it comes to handling these types of cargo. We are now in a position to handle over thirty different kinds of hazardous material.

We let customers focus on their core business

Given the labour shortage, companies are having a hard time finding specialized workers in their respective industries. Hiring additional employees to oversee raw material procurement and shipping means making significant efforts in terms of staffing, training, health and safety, and inventory management. Having to add internal logistics specialists to personnel significantly reduces the time the company can spend on the key activity that drives their success.

Customers are increasingly seeking to stay focused on their core service offering and delegate related tasks to experts in those fields. Logistics is a great example: Groupe Somavrac can take over operations including cargo stevedoring, warehousing, transportation, and handling and transformation so customers can focus on their core business.

“Groupe Somavrac has always been responsive to customer needs and proactive in developing solutions that require research, development, and significant investments.”

We offer full customization

We can adapt our service to various types of bulk (solid or liquid), material (acids, bases, etc.), and transformation (preparing solutions, sifting, etc.). Over time, the company has built a diverse customer base thanks to its custom logistics offering. Whether dealing with cement, ore concentrates, or fertilizers, Groupe Somavrac has always been responsive to customer needs and proactive in developing solutions that require research, development, and significant investments.

We help import large volumes, export small volumes, and vice versa

Our pivotal position on the shores of the Saint Lawrence is a strategic gateway to America, the Great Lakes, and the American Northeast.

This strategic position on the Saint Lawrence Seaway enables us to receive large volumes of imported cargo and raw materials. Our teams then get to work to transfer and forward them efficiently across North America. We also make it easier to transport cargo for export markets, with a seamless transition between road, rail, and maritime transportation.

We help optimize overall costs

As the company can provide a wide range of services, it’s a one-stop shop for complete logistics. No need to deal with four or five different service providers to unload and warehouse your cargo. We have the facilities and handling equipment to do the work simply and cost effectively.

Your logistics operations can all be handled by multimodal handling specialists in a single, safe location that is specially designed for multimodal operations! Not to mention the simpler administrative aspect of dealing with one invoice, one contract, one set of inventory tracking, and one contact person.

Six steps to successful stabilization

Here is how to prepare your gravel road before the tank arrives to apply dust suppressant.

Benefits of stabilization

30% increase in road lifespan
Durability and safety
Minimal maintenance
Profitability

1. CHECK ROAD DRAINAGE

Thoroughly cleaning ditches and repairing faulty culverts during the summer are essential to ensure runoff drains quickly and efficiently, instead of pooling on the road.

When it comes to applying dust suppressant, here are two good reasons not to neglect these steps: first, water that pools on the road will dilute the calcium chloride, significantly affecting its effectiveness. Second, product can be lost through runoff and splashing from cars. Rainwater on the road also promotes the formation of potholes and washboarding. In short, without this essential preparation work, it is best not to consider adding more gravel, because the road would then deteriorate very quickly.

2. SCARIFY THE SURFACE

Use a grader to scarify the entire surface of the road. This step will help the new aggregate mix with the old and ensure better homogeneity of the granular material. It will also prevent the layers of gravel (old and new) from stratifying.

In addition, the best results are obtained when there is adequate penetration of the liquid dust suppressant. Penetration should be in the order of 10 to 20 millimeters [3/8 to 3/4 inch]. Good penetration minimizes loss of dust suppressant through surface runoff. It gives cohesion and ensures resistance to leaching and aging. If the product has penetrated well into the soil, its hygroscopic effect will be longer lasting.

3. PLACE NEW GRAVEL

Add new gravel to the entire surface of the road – ideally, a thickness of at least 20 cm of new gravel should be added. When laying the gravel, use the grader to create two small hems at the edge of either side of the road so that about half (10 cm) of the new gravel is kept in the center of the road. The purpose of this step is to ensure that all the new gravel is treated with calcium chloride.

4. APPLY CALCIUM CHLORIDE

Spread the calcium chloride on the new gravel between the hems. Two thirds of the total volume should be applied at this stage.

About stabilization using flake calcium chloride
When flake calcium chloride is used for stabilization, mixing the product directly into the gravel during crushing is recommended to ensure that the mixture is homogeneous. After laying the gravel and grading the road, sprinkling a bit of calcium chloride flakes on the surface and spraying it down to melt the flakes is highly recommended. Afterwards, continue with the two steps described below, Level and grade the road and Compact the road.

5. LEVEL AND GRADE THE ROAD

Level the entire road surface, taking care to remove the hems and evenly distribute the gravel across the road surface. Leveling should be done in such a way as to form a crown in the shape of a speed bump (or type A) from the center of the road to the edges. The cross slope from the center of the road to the shoulder should be at least 4%. As soon as the road profile is obtained, spread the rest of the liquid (the remaining third) over the entire road surface.

6. COMPACT THE ROAD

Once the liquid has penetrated the gravel, compact the surface using a roller compactor (pneumatic or steel roller). Be sure to reach optimum gravel density to avoid the formation of ruts from vehicle traffic.

As you can see, gravel roads need maintenance to extend their lifespan. The same goes for our customer base: we hope to keep you as long-term customers, and your complete satisfaction is our primary concern.

Month: January 2021