Solving Cost Dilemmas in Handling Raw Materials
By Summit Systems, January 2011
Introduction
Keeping costs down to maximise profits is a bottom-line goal that has become increasingly elusive for industrial manufacturers. When the raw materials include expensive plastics or petrochemicals, even tiny losses will blunt a company's competitive edge. On the other hand, the delays in production speed and extra manpower necessary to conserve those materials can be almost as expensive.
Attempts have been made to improve the speed and efficiency of raw material usage by eliminating the bottleneck of repeated sack opening and emptying. Various packaging and storage innovations are available to address this challenge. They include bulk packaging (gigantic sacks delivered in 30-ton containers), which greatly reduce the number of sacks that must be opened; and tanker deliveries to silos which enable raw materials to be added to a production process at a controlled, uninterrupted rate.
However, These innovations have been a mixed blessing.
- Bulk packaging does cut down on the man-hours involved in sack opening and emptying, but that savings is eroded by the cost of dedicated trucks required to deliver the huge containers. They cannot haul anything else and must return to the supplier empty, and naturally the cost of wasted logistical resources is passed on to the industrial buyer.
- Tanker deliveries, in addition to the considerable cost of each silo, there is a risk of disaster of mixing multiple deliveries of raw material: high-quality material topped by an "off spec" shipment can render the entire silo contents useless, triggering alarming losses in material and production time.
The Market Trend: Back to the Sack
Companies that have learned these lessons the hard way are returning to shipments of raw materials in small sacks of no more than 25 kg each. The ease of quality control, the cost-effective transport, and the simple storage requirements are further enhanced by the competitive pricing among a wider choice of suppliers.
Unique Features of the LaborSave, the Ultimate Sack Emptying Solution
Fully Automated from End to End
LaborSave is the only sack handler in the market that can be truly called "fully automated" - requiring absolutely no manual assistance and virtually no maintenance. Only loading the full pallets and removing the empty ones are performed by a forklift operator, and even this process can be automated if desired.
"Fully automated" also means full safety for plant personnel, who no longer need to lift heavy sacks, work around moving blades or handle empty dust-filled sacks.
Unparalleled Efficiency
LaborSave is designed to handle more than 1300 sacks an hour, with a consistent 99.99% emptying ratio. This remarkably low material loss - not 0.10% but 0.01%- is guaranteed.
Versatility
- LaborSave handles most types of sacks: plastic, polypropylene, paper and burlap, ranging between 25 and 75 kg in weight.
- Most sack arrangements on a pallet can be handled automatically by the system, with inclinations up to 25 cm.
- LaborSave empties most kinds of materials with equal efficiency: granules, powders, foodstuffs and chemicals.
- The system is also mobile, providing sack handling for all industrial environments, any location in the plant, anytime it's needed.\
Choice of Capacity
The various LaborSave systems can handle between 400 and 1300 sacks per hour.
PLC Controlled
LaborSave is programmed by a user-friendly electronic menu, with options to install sensors in storage silos at maximum and minimum levels, which activate and de-activate the sack emptying operation.
Optional Features
- Automatic pallet feeding conveyor
- Automatic pallet removal conveyor
- Automatic pallet stacker
- Automatic empty sack compactor