Dakota Supply Group - Index

Dakota Supply Group - dakotaoctober - Index

AUTOMATION 40
continued from page 39
Even Will’s wife, Keri, plays her part and handles
the billing.
Hubers Electric has always kept busy, and in
2000, Will Hubers took a job that would spark
even bigger and better things. Hubers Electric,
with the help of DSG, went to work for Lynne
Boadwine and his dairy operation in Baltic, SD,
where more than 1,000 cows are milked. This was
the start of a uniquely positive working relationship
between Boadwine and Hubers. Boadwine is known
as someone whose goal is perfection, and Hubers’
electrical expertise was a perfect match.
This relationship is an important cornerstone
of Hubers Electric and has earned Hubers a
reputation as a top-notch electrician. In 2006,
when Boadwine partnered with Scott Helmer
to build Helmer Dairy, there was no question
as to whom to call for electrical work, including
meeting the complex requirements of the dairy’s
automated systems.
Hubers Electric teamed up with DSG to install
approximately 600 250-watt Low Bay fixtures and
more than a million feet of wire in the Helmer
Dairy facility. This job also involved a number of
vapor-tight lights, huge ventilation fans, switchgear
and an abundant amount of PVC pipes and boxes.
“DSG supplied about 80 to 90 percent of all
the electrical material that went into the dairy,”
says Hooker. “Plus the custom control panels,
which are one of the key components of the
dairy operation.”
Will Hubers is a qualified electrician, but he
has also shown a gift for the creation and use of
automation controls. In fact, he designed a total of
RIGHT/BOTTOM RIGHT: In addition to custom
control panels, DSG also supplied Hubers Electric
with Cooper Lighting fixtures, Low Bays in the
free-stall barns and VT series vapor-tight fixtures
in the parlor.
BELOW: Huge Aerotech ventilation fans
supplied by DSG keep the cows cool for better
milk production.
www.dakotasupplygroup.com
four control panels to help run the dairy, but not
in the way you may think. In other words, there is
no milk involved.
The sand-separator room serves as one of the
dairy’s main automation control hubs, where an
impressive system that includes four 20-horsepower
motors, four soft starts and four remote start/stop
stations helps to recycle the sand used in the dairy.
The cows are bedded on sand and, consequently,
fill it with manure. To maximize the efficiency
of the dairy, the sand is separated from the
manure and reused. The panels built by Hubers
control augers that transport the sand and manure
throughout this process. It’s a system that saves the
dairy significant resources, including both money
and manpower.
One huge benefit of Hubers’ control panel design
is its safety programming. The sand-separator
room is completely automated and doesn’t require
an operator. So, in the event of a complication
in the sand-separation process where one part is
incapacitated, the automation system recognizes
this and shuts down the entire system until the
complication can be fixed. This saves the dairy
from a huge mess, as well as the lost productivity
that goes with cleanup. Thankfully, however, the
dairy hasn’t had to see this important feature in
action as of yet.
“For big projects like Helmer Dairy, it was
important to be on the top of my game,” says
Hubers. “I try to give my customers exactly what
they’re looking for, but I also try to offer them
innovative ways on how they can maximize
their operation.” Hubers Electric and DSG are