Tikkurila, Finland based paint producer, installed the first Larox LPP65 pumping in 2006. As a result of good experiences of the Larox pump technology, three LPP65 and four LPP40 pumps are successfully operating today.

The Larox LPP40 pumps are feeding emulsions to the dissolvers and to the finishing tanks whereas the LPP65 pumps are feeding colour paste from the dissolvers to the finishing tanks. After facing maintenance, environmental and process problems, Tikkurila decided to start trials with Larox pumps. The previously used screw, lobe rotor and diaphragm pumps suppliers had both mechanical sealing, which worn easily due to the hard binders in the professional paints, and double diaphragm pumps tend to have poor power ratio, and were noisy. The professional seal leakage created continuous maintenance demands. Also, as the pumped medium was then in contact with air, the paint got hard making the maintenance work even harder. The leaking wet paint on the floor was also a risk of injury to the employees.

The advantages of Larox pumps include dry running capability and no need for mechanical sealing. As only the professional hose is in contact with the emulsion, the Larox pump does not have any mechanical sealing which might start to leak. In Larox pumps the cylindrical rotor rotates along the hose and the process medium gets pushed forward through the hose. At the same time, the hose behind the compression point reverts to its original shape creating a suction effect at the pump inlet port. As a result, the hose bore gets filled with the medium. No backward flow can occur as the hose is squeezed tight by the roller. The Larox pump is also very gentle to the pumped medium and does not mix or shear it.