Anderson 33 Expellers® History and how the expeller® impacted Alloy’s History

Valerius D Anderson was a brilliant man who formed V.D. Anderson Company which is now Anderson International in 1888.

V.D. Anderson invented the Expeller® press and patented it in 1900.  On Anderson International’s website they say the Expeller® was first used for linseed oil extraction for Sherwin Williams in 1907.

What V.D. Anderson invented was a screw press machine that used an interrupted flight design.  Over the years Anderson continued to improve on the Expeller® but the basic concept of the screw having interruptions which minimize co-rotation is still utilized in all screw press designs today.  Anderson developed a tapered shaft where compression is achieved by using graduated pitch stages forcing the material into a smaller area and creating more pressure and better oil removal.

You might be wondering why I am blogging about Valerius D. Anderson who created a company in 1888 that still exists today.  The answer to that question relates to Alloy’s history and our involvement in Anderson 33 Expellers®.  Alloy in 1952 was primarily a company that had the ability to make parts last longer utilizing our hardfacing capabilities.  From the 1950’s through the 1970’s a large part of Alloy’s business related to rebuilding Anderson 33 Expellers® along with French Presses and Andersons that had longer drainage sections.  At one time, we were an authorized rebuilder for Anderson and used Anderson parts in our rebuilding process.  At that time, many companies used Expellers® to remove oil from various seeds.  The press parts wear out and the machines need to be rebuilt.  Some of the seeds that Alloy rebuilt Expellers® were used on included beans, corn, rape seed (now canola), sunflower seeds, copra, palm and others.  Bill Aulik had an unusual God-given talent to know how to tweak an Anderson Expeller® shaft and what spacing to use on barrel bars to give maximum oil extraction and performance.  We were also in the right area of the US right along the Mississippi river where so many grains and seeds travelled.  At the height of our Expeller® press history we had another location along the Mississippi in Memphis where Expellers® could be rebuilt and to service our accounts in the South. 

Chemical extraction of oilseeds

Beginning in the 1960’s many of our customers went to chemical extraction of oil seeds.  The size of the plants were many multiples of what one could do with mechanical extraction and they could remove more oil.  So the Alloy product line of rebuilding presses decreased rapidly and the presses that were used for oil seeds were getting bigger and bigger.  Alloy’s main product could no longer sustain our company and a major shift was required to remain a profitable company.  One customer who knew Bill from an oil seed plant was hired in a rendering plant.  He was having problems with an Expeller® and wanted advice on how to modify the machine.  The birth of Alloy focusing on rendering equipment began that day and we have continued to focus on this industry.  Many items in rendering plants suited the capabilities of our shop. 

Anderson 33 Expellers® today

The Anderson 33 Expeller® is still used in many locations throughout the world.  There are few left in the US, as the plants in the US require more capacity from the press.  However, there are many small batch plants where the Anderson Expeller® is the perfect size for their volumes.  The press is versatile and can be used for poultry meal, meat and bone meal, porcine meal and fish meal.  It is a very forgiving press and still makes a good cake even if not fed at the proper speed or temperature.  Alloy still rebuilds a few presses each year and we maintain a stock of Anderson 33 Expellers® by purchasing complete rendering plants.  35 years ago the market was flooded with Anderson 33 Expellers® from the vegetable oil plants that were converting to chemical extraction but they are now scarce.  Alloy however always has inventory on this item.  So if you are looking for an Anderson 33® for rendering, reach out to us and we can rebuild a machine for you.  We clearly have the expertise to do right and have been servicing the machines for decades.  V.D. Anderson what a truly amazing man and inventor.