For over 100 years, Prater Industries has been a trusted name in particle management solutions for demanding bulk solids processing applications. Their equipment is engineered to deliver precise, reliable performance across size reduction, particle sizing, feeding, and separation — making Prater the preferred choice for processors who require consistent particle quality at high throughput. Over 1,000 facilities worldwide rely on Prater equipment built to provide years of low-maintenance, reliable service.

Trotter Equipment represents Prater Industries across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Our engineers work closely with Prater’s technical team to match the right equipment to your specific material, throughput, and process requirements — from initial application review through startup and beyond. At Trotter, we value our partnership with Prater and work cooperatively to ensure complete continuity of care for our customers.

Prater Equipment

Prater manufactures a comprehensive line of particle management equipment for bulk solids processing. Each product family is available in multiple configurations to match your material, throughput, and sanitation requirements.

Rotary Airlock Valves

Precision-machined rotary airlock valve feeders for metering dry bulk solids into pneumatic conveying lines, dust collectors, and pressure vessels while minimizing air leakage. Prater’s industry-leading CFR (cubic feet per revolution) allows up to 50% more volume per revolution, enabling slower rotor speeds for longer service life. Available in cast iron and stainless steel. Standard models operate up to 500°F; custom models up to 1,000°F. NFPA-69 compliant and third-party tested.

• Heavy Duty PAV Series — The workhorse of the product line. Precision cast iron or stainless steel construction with eight-blade rotors, self-adjusting packing glands, and universal mounting flanges. Designed for dry, free-flowing solids in gravity-fed or pneumatic systems.
• Blow-Thru PBT Series — Designed specifically for discharging directly into a pneumatic conveying line. Ideal for free-flowing materials requiring assistance clearing rotor vane pockets. Compact design allows installation in low-headroom applications.
• Dust Collector DCS Series — Engineered for reliable material discharge while maintaining pressure balance inside the dust collector. Consistent air sealing for effective dust collection system performance.
• Quick Take Apart QTA Series — Tool-free disassembly for fast cleaning and sanitary processing. Pre-gapped rotors eliminate post-installation adjustment. Ideal for applications requiring frequent product changeovers.
• BAV Series on Rails — Linear rail system for easy rotor removal and reinstallation. Direct drive design with two-piece rotors. Designed for processing lines with strict sanitation standards and minimal downtime requirements.
• Abrasion Resistant Series — The most durable model available. Hardened rotor tips, premium seals, and specialty wear coatings (tungsten, chrome, or ceramic) as standard. Built for highly abrasive materials including minerals, pigments, alumina, sand, and abrasive powders.

Hammer Mills

High-throughput impact mills for coarse-to-medium particle size reduction of friable bulk materials. Prater hammer mills deliver consistent particle size distribution at high capacities for grains, sugar, chemicals, wood products, and more.

• Full-Screen Hammer Mill — Maximum screen area for high-capacity milling. The full-screen design ensures that all product passes through the screen before discharge, delivering a tighter particle size distribution than conventional designs.
• Mega Mill Hammer Mill — Large-format hammer mill for high-volume industrial applications requiring maximum throughput. Available in multiple configurations to match capacity and particle size requirements.

Fine Grinders

High-speed impact mills for fine-to-ultrafine particle size reduction where tight D50 control is required. Ideal for spices, sugar, chemicals, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceutical ingredients.

• M Series Fine Grinder — High-speed impact fine grinder for a wide range of friable bulk materials. Delivers consistent fine and ultrafine particle size reduction with minimal heat generation.
• 10-Bar Pressure-Rated Fine Grinder — Designed for explosive or flammable materials requiring inert-gas blanketing in a closed-loop, pressure-rated system. Rated to 10-bar for safe processing of combustible dusts and solvent-bearing materials.

Air Classifying Mills

Integrated milling and air classification in a single unit — simultaneously grinds and classifies to produce a tightly controlled particle size distribution. Reduces or eliminates the need for separate downstream classification equipment. Ideal for applications where both D50 control and elimination of oversized particles are critical.

Air Classifiers

Precision dry separation of fine particles by aerodynamic cut point — without screens. Delivers sharp classification cuts for powders where sieve-based separation cannot achieve the required accuracy.

• Mini-Split Air Classifier — Compact air classifier for fine and ultrafine particle separation. Delivers precise cuts at low throughput rates for laboratory, pilot-scale, and small production applications.
• MAC Air Classifier — High-capacity production air classifier for demanding industrial classification applications requiring sharp, consistent separation cuts at high throughput.

Rotary Sifters & Centrifugal Sifters

High-capacity inline sifting for scalping oversized particles, fines removal, and product safety screening in food, chemical, and industrial applications.

• Rotary Sifter — Continuous inline sifting at high rates with a small footprint. Available in sanitary construction for food and pharmaceutical applications.
• Centrifugal Sifter — Uses centrifugal force to push material through the screen for high-capacity, high-efficiency particle separation. Ideal for fine powders that are difficult to screen by gravity alone.

Lump Breakers & Flake Breakers

Mechanical de-agglomeration of caked, bridged, or lumped bulk materials without oversizing. Restores free-flowing condition to materials that have clumped during storage or transport.

• Standard Lump Breaker — Robust lump breaking for a wide range of bulk materials including chemicals, fertilizers, food ingredients, and minerals.
• Quick-Clean Lump Breaker — Designed for rapid disassembly and cleaning without tools. Ideal for food, dairy, and pharmaceutical applications requiring frequent sanitary cleandowns.
• Flake Breaker — Designed specifically for breaking compacted or flaked materials back to their original granular or powder form.

Rotormill & Rotordryer

• Rotormill — Versatile milling machine combining impact, shear, and attrition forces for multiple applications. Handles a wide range of materials and delivers flexible particle size reduction without the need for screens.
• Rotordryer® — Combines mechanical agitation with direct heat for simultaneous drying and processing of bulk solids in a compact, continuous design. Reduces moisture content while maintaining product integrity.

Industries Served

Prater equipment is trusted across a wide range of bulk solids processing industries:

• Food & Beverage — Flour, sugar grinding, bakery premix, spice processing, salt, starch, dairy powders, plant-based protein, cocoa, seasoning blends, coffee
• Baking & Grain — Wheat flour, rye, oat, corn meal, grain separation, feed milling
• Agricultural Processing — Grain, animal feed, soy white flakes, hemp, corn processing, feed pellets
• Chemicals & Minerals — Pigments, carbon black, alumina, lime, fly ash, gypsum, talc, silica, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide, mineral powders
• Nutraceuticals & Pharmaceuticals — Vitamins, supplements, excipients, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), botanical extracts
• Powder Coatings — Thermoset and thermoplastic powder coatings, epoxy and polyester powders, fine grind and classification
• Plastics & Polymers — Plastic pellets, PVC powder, vinyl powder, polymer resin, regrind
• Wood Processing — Wood chips, sawdust, biomass, cellulose fiber, wood flour
• Recycling — Post-consumer plastic regrind, paper fiber, waste-to-energy feedstock
• Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturing — Battery cathode materials, anode powders, graphite, lithium compounds, electrode material processing
• Laboratory & Toll Processing — Pilot-scale trials, material feasibility testing, process development, custom toll processing

Services

• Engineering / Application Design
• Trials / Test Lab
• Install / Commissioning
• System Integration
• Repairs & Troubleshooting
• Toll Processing
• Equipment Rentals

PARTS

• Spare Parts
• Sub-Assembly Replacements
• Rotary Airlock Replacement Rotors, Seals & Packing Glands
• Hammer Mill Hammers & Screens
• Grinder Discs & Liners
• Sifter Screens & Baskets