Handling your success
Handling your success
Clevertech North America recently delivered a high-speed system that uses the Arrow 520 high-level palletizer. The system will be handling products for the Pet Care market.
A world leader in Home Care, the customer has been turning to Clevertech for years for the design of its end-of-line systems. In fact, more than ten projects have been successfully delivered to the company over the last three years.
The new system was designed for the customer’s West Virginia plant, which manufactures cat litter. The global Pet Care industry has grown all over the world in the last two years and more significantly in North America and in the Asia-Pacific region. The region driving growth is North America, while Europe follows suit in terms of consumption.
The Asia-Pacific market is expected to record the highest growth with revenues of nearly $25 billion by 2025 (PRN News Wire, “Global Pet Care Market- Outlook 2025” report).
The long-standing partnership between Clevertech and the customer led to intensive consulting work that was based on exploring alternatives to identify the most efficient and suitable solution for the production plant.
Initially, the customer wasn’t sure about the strategic choices to pursue. That’s why Clevertech set up a specific team of professionals to come up with multiple solutions.
The customer ultimately decided on a system with high level palletization, a solution that enables reaching high speeds and optimizing floor space.
The system is able to handle not only loose litter bags but also the trays containing the bags. In addition, the customer has the possibility of implementing complex pallet configurations with significant pattern flexibility, thanks to two infeed robotic manipulators. Extremely flexible, the system provides the possibility to create new palletization patterns directly from the machine’s operator panel. This means no external operation is needed.
The high level palletizer brings greater productivity to the customer because the layer is formed overhead, leaving lots of free floor space.
The high level palletizer reaches a speed of 70 to 100 cartons per minute. Two stores complete the system. The first is a pad store and the second a slip sheet store. The slip sheets are made from a material with a high coefficient of friction, to make the goods even more stable on the pallet. The system can handle CHEP or GMA pallets.
A stretch hood machine was integrated into the solution. Instead of wrapping the pallet, stretch hooders place a hood over it.
The stretch hood solution is perfect for unstable loads because it takes advantage of the elasticity of the tubular film, which is unwound from the spool, cut and then stretched by the hooding machine. Once the film covers the pallet, it is released at the bottom of the pallet. The film adapts perfectly to the goods, creating a strong and very stable hood.
The fully integrated system includes:
The end-of-line system also offers the possibility of introducing offline pallets. These are pallets that are prepared manually but can nevertheless be loaded onto the line and conveyed to the stretch hood machine and then, the labeller.
The integrated end-of-line system was customized to the customer’s electrical and mechanical specifications, which Clevertech actively contributed to define throughout the years of the partnership. Electrical design and mechanical design play, in fact, a crucial role in improving the efficiency of the machine.
The customer’s already high level of satisfaction increased even more when the system was tested at the Italian headquarters plant. During testing, the whole system (infeed conveyors, spiral elevator, palletization, full pallets conveyor line and stretch hooder) was installed and tested in manufacturing conditions. After the positive outcome of the tests, the customer ordered another line for the West Virginia plant, cementing the partnership with Clevertech.
The supply comes with interactive catalogue for the purchase of spare parts, with direct access via a QR code found right on the machine. In addition, the customer opted for access to our maintenance sheets which, through step-by-step illustration of the required maintenance tasks, will speed up the work of operators and reduce errors.
The offer was completed with a preventive maintenance program, in order to keep the system at its maximum level of efficiency. Under the program, Clevertech will inspect the system at scheduled intervals and provide a detailed checklist of the system’s state and functionality. The aim is to keep costs down by preventing system breakdowns and malfunctions.
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