IMPORTANT SAFETY MESSAGE

DUPPS BATCH
HYDROLYZORS(tm)

If you are not currently a user of a Dupps Batch Cookor, please pass this web address on to the present user. It has an important safety message. Also, please provide The Dupps Company with the name and address of the current user.

We at The Dupps Company have always been concerned over the potential for severe personal injury and fatal accidents involving Dupps Batch Hydrolyzors' that are caused by misuse or unapproved operating methods. To do its job, the Batch Hydrolyzor' requires that high heat and high pressure be used in a corrosive environment. No one should ever try to open either the charging door or valve or the discharge door until all pressure has been relieved according to proper operating procedures, and the discharge door should be opened only if the charging door or valve is open. The Dupps Batch Hydrolyzor' has been designed to provide a high degree of safety to its operators when proper procedures are followed. Failure to follow proper operating instructions or disregarding of maintenance procedures can cause serious accidents. To re-emphasize the importance of following the recommended operating and maintenance procedures, we have enclosed an addendum to the Instruction Manual for this equipment.

The best "safety device" is and always has been a well-trained operator. The Instruction Manual addendum highlights the sequence of steps to be followed to operate and maintain the Batch Hydrolyzor' in a safe manner. Special emphasis is given to the proper training of operators and following proper procedures before discharging the Hydrolyzor. We strongly recommend that every operator, as well as anyone else who will be working in the general area of the Batch Hydrolyzor, be trained or retrained using the operating manual and the enclosed addendum. If your manual is missing, contact us for a replacement manual.

In addition to the new addendum, we have available for you, free of charge, two large laminated signs that specify and summarize the proper operating procedures for this equipment. We recommend that you acquire these signs from us and post them conspicuously in the working vicinity of the Batch Hydrolizor where they are clearly visible. Copies of these signs are available in English or Spanish. One set English or Spanish may be ordered free of charge from Dupps referencing part number 145501 (English warning sign), part number 145503 (English Operating Instructions), part number 145502 (Spanish warning sign), and part number 145504 (Spanish Operating Instructions). Additional copies will be available at our cost plus postage.

Of great importance, we also recently have developed an interlocking system that monitors the vessel's internal pressure and the position of the charging door or valve. It uses technology previously unavailable. The locking device retains the discharge door in a virtually closed and locked position if the internal pressure of the vessel is greater than zero or if the charging door or valve is closed. Using this new locking device, the discharge door can be opened only if the internal pressure is at external atmospheric pressure and the charging door or valve is open. We have field tested this device extensively before offering it to you. We are confident of its reliability. But no device including an interlock can ever be 100% reliable or be a substitute for good operator training and proper operating procedures. If you choose to add this very important additional safety enhancement as a supplement to your training and procedures, it is available from The Dupps Company as a retrofit (part number 144422) at our cost of $5200 per Batch Hydrolyzor'. We strongly recommend this new interlock system to you.

As a final item, we are preparing a video setting out in clear language and pictures the proper operating procedures for a rendering cycle utilizing a Dupps Batch Hydrolyzor'. This video soon will be available in VHS format and on a CD-ROM disc. Contact us by telephone, facsimile or e-mail for your free copy to be delivered as soon as available.

It always has been and continues to be the goal of The Dupps Co. to build equipment and systems that provide the greatest degree of safety for our customers and their employees. When our equipment is operated using the recommended practices and procedures, the operators are ensured of a safe working environment in which to perform their duties. It is our sincere hope that you will implement the recommendations outlined in this letter and detailed in the manual addendum so that each operator and maintenance specialist for our equipment will have the training, the skill level and the safeguards necessary to assure performance of their assigned tasks in the safest possible manner.

John Dupps

President, The Dupps Company-USA