Salt - ffs bagging & palletising system
Client
Peacock Salt is among the UK’s largest suppliers of de-icing salt with supply volume reaching 350,000 tonnes a year. https://www.peacocksalt.com/
Peacock Salt contracted Webster Griffin to supply a comprehensive solution including Form Fill Seal packing, Okura Robot palletising and Big Bag Filling to pack their de-icing salt range into 5 – 25kg bags and Bulk Bags at their state-of-the-art facility in Port Ayr, Scotland.
Challenge
To achieve a high speed packing line and palletising for different grades of corrosive de-icing salt product.
- Flexibility to pack multiple different bag types and sizes a must
- Gusseted and non-gusseted bags
- 5 kg and 10 kg bags with handles
- 15kg, 20kg, 25kg pillow or gusset bags
- Single loop big bags
- System to operate 2 shifts per day throughout winter
- Minimal operator input, causes of stoppages or alarms easy to identify
- Corrosion resistant with minimal moving parts. Reduced factory maintenance and cleaning
- Supply chain reliability with the capacity to pack on demand catering to limited warehouse space
- Stretch wrap protected pallets to ensure bags arrive clean and dry to customers
- Minimal downtime between product and bag size changeovers to maximise efficiency
Solution
Webster Griffin proposed a versatile, high speed bagging and palletising system including Form Fill Seal and Bulk Bag bagging and robot palletising system. Peacock Salt's turnkey solution was tailored according to their precise requirements.
- FFS CV2080 vertical FFS bagging machine – continuously operates making and filling bags from a reel of flat printed film which it forms into a tube. The seal at the top of the first bag also forms the bottom of the next bag
- The flat film roll machine has few moving parts which means minimal exposure to the corrosive effects of salt whilst allowing for enhanced accessibility for maintenance and cleaning
- Okura A1600 Robot palletiser – equipped with Okura OXPA ‘Easy Teach’ programming for different bag sizes and palletising patterns. The palletiser self-adjusts for different bag sizes and palletising patterns which can be altered at the push of a button
- Uniwrap 300 AE rotating arm pallet stretch wrapper in which the plastic sheet is automatically cut-to-size and placed on top of the palletised load to ensure complete waterproof protection
- Single arm single big bag filling machine for simple bulk bag loading
- Two duplex electronic net weigh scales - alternately weigh and discharge elected volume of salt into bagging machine filling tube
- Corrosion resistant construction including stainless steel 304 parts. Anti-corrosion epoxy paint finish with brass and aluminium parts, and IP65 splash and dust proof electrics and cabling ensures a robust industrial structure
- 8m Bag Flattener – electronically adjustable to cater to varying requirements of compression ensuring that excess air is squeezed out of the micro-perforated filled bags
- Pallet conveyor system complete with pallet magazine with a capacity of up to 15 pallets. The system ensures the changeover period occurs within 5 seconds
- Individual integrated touch screen PLC control system simplifying varying programme changes through constant communication with the parent controller to ensure total control
- Guarding system complaint to health and safety requirements
Result
Peacock Salt now packs de-icing salt at a rate of 900 bags per hour. The low maintenance solution reduced labour required from 3 – 4 operators to a single fork lift driver who twice a day loads a 600kg roll of plastic film into the bagging machine and ensures the pallet magazine remains stocked.
- Peacock Salt now packs multiple grades of salt into 5kg and 10kg bags with handles and 15kg, 20kg and 25kg pillow/gusset bags. The system can also fill bulk bag containers
- Seamless product switching allows for Peacock Salt to cater more effectively to changes in customer demands
- High Speed bagging with rates of up to 900 bags per hour each pallet is completed and ready to be dispatched within 2.7 minutes
- Increased warehouse space – Due to the flexibility of the new line, Peacock Salt can pack on demand, keeping stock levels low and saving warehouse space
- During wrapping, a plastic sheet is cut to size and placed on top of the stack, ensuring each package is waterproof and arrives to the customer in perfect condition
Case Images
Other Industry Experience
