From broom handle to Palcut solution: No more machine downtime for McBride
Company
McBride, Denmark A/S
Thanks to a solution from Palcut, global washing powder manufacturer McBride Denmark A/S has considerably increased the efficiency of its palletising.
Challenges with interlayer sheets required a specially designed machine solution for McBride Denmark A/S in Holstebro, who specialise in making washing powder. As well as the factory in Denmark, the company also has factories and offices in 12 countries throughout Europe and Asia.
The company was using a traditional sheet magazine solution on their palletising line with pre-cut, anti-slip pallet sheets, where half and full pallets were palletised. But the company experienced errors and machine stops when the robot collected the interlayer sheets, sometimes up to several times a day, says McBride’s team leader Dennis Lago Hansen.
“We had an unimaginable number of stops because we had to correct the sheets every time something went wrong. When the robot sucked up the sheets, it often gripped several sheets at a time. Typically, that meant that the bottom sheet either fell off or was placed crookedly onto the pallet,” he says.
And it was expensive in the long run. Every time the robot’s four suction cups failed to grip the paper properly, employees spent unnecessary time either forcing an emergency stop or tipping the sheet into place with a broom handle.
| Fact box |
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| The three typical machine stops at McBride: 1. When replenishing the sheet magazine 2. When changing the pallet size on the line 3. During paper misfeed Thanks to Palcut's sheet dispenser, McBride has now completely eliminated emergency stops caused by incorrect lifting. In addition, the changeover time has been significantly reduced, because employees don’t have to manually change the system to run a different pallet size. Finally, there is now far more paper on a reel than a sheet magazine could ever hold. |
Solution
McBride decided to replace the traditional sheet magazine solution with a fully automated sheet dispenser from Palcut. But the space for the new investment seemed lacking at first. Sales Manager at Palcut, Keld Emil Jensen, says:
“There was no room for a Palcut machine, but we wanted to avoid the costs of removing McBride’s existing equipment. By using the adjacent room and making a hole in the wall to bring the dispenser’s pickup table through, we could leave McBride’s facility untouched.”
“Together with the McBride team, we came up with a unique, specially designed solution, which now ensures that McBride eliminates machine stoppages on the palletising line. They have gone from broom handle to a custom made solution from Palcut.”
Thanks to the solution from Palcut, virtually no changes have been made to McBride’s existing plant. Should the company wish to go back to the old solution, the Palcut dispenser can easily be removed, allowing McBride to continue as before.
Results
The solution has been of great significance to McBride; with 3,900 metres per reel, the company has significantly reduced their manual replenishments. The machine cuts and delivers the sheets optimally every time, much to the delight of the washing powder manufacturer.
“As there is only one sheet that has been cut, we don’t run the risk of the machine picking up several sheets at a time, as before,” says Dennis Lago Hansen.
“This has resulted in us not having had a single machine stoppage on the palletising line since setting up the sheet dispenser a year ago. We have saved a whole lot of time and frustration for our employees, and the solution is far safer because the employees don’t have to mess about with the machine.”
The fact that McBride has had fewer stoppages on the machine has led to an increase in the company’s production with subsequent financial gains.
Cooperative abilities
For Palcut, the solution for McBride is a good example of how the right collaboration and the right communication can lead to a unique solution that ensures stability, reliability and efficiency.
“We want to make everyday life easier for our customers. We communicate with the customer to find the best possible solution for them. We only say yes to a project if we are 100 percent sure that we can do it,” says Keld Emil Jensen.
As is the case for McBride.
“We have been delighted with the collaboration with Palcut, which has helped us through the process,” says Dennis Lago Hansen.
Palcut has more than 700 solutions installed throughout Europe and is an expert in stable palletising, where the company customise solutions that ensure value and efficiency for both large and small companies.
