Palletising plant still running at the 13th year

Foods

Open boxes

Palletising work is now pure automation

As much as 13 years ago, the KiMs Factory in Søndersø, North Funen, automated the palletising of their products with three complete palletising systems from DAN Palletiser. Despite the machinery having some years under its belt, it still runs flawlessly, with assistance from DAN Palletiser's service technicians.

No monotonous lifts and bottle necks

Fully updated system

Seamless collaboration

One operator per shift

Challenge

Many employees in the palletising area, as it was manual, resulting in heavy and monotonous lifts.

Solution

Fully automated palletising system, saving employees from heavy tasks, thus aiming to increase efficiency and productivity.

Benefits

Now employees avoid monotonous lifting, and now no bottlenecks as the palletising takes place automatically, and more efficiently than before.

The pace is high at the factory in Søndersø on North Funen, which has been named Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Denmark since 2016 but is perhaps better known as the "KiMs factory." Here, nearly 200 employees in administration and production ensure an ample supply of popular chips and snacks for supermarket shelves.

Some of the production employees operate and monitor the production facilities, while others pack the finished bags into cartons, which are then palletized and shipped to customers. While the large production facility in Søndersø relies on the diligent hands and sharp eyes of its employees, the significant palletizing work, however, requires only one operator per shift. And it has been that way for 13 years now.

No monotony in lifting and no bottlenecks

”Palletising work is now fully automated. Previously, there were many employees in palletising when it was done manually. Today, there is one operator per shift who handles everything," tells Anders Siefert, Maintenance Manager at Orkla Confectionery & Snack Denmark.

Automated palletising has been a crucial part of production since 2004. At that time, DAN Palletiser delivered a complete system with three palletisers and distribution conveyors that palletise cartons of chips from 14 production lines simultaneously. Each of the three palletisers can handle six different pallets at the same time.

”All lines converge in the palletising system and go directly onto pallets. This way, we avoid our employees having to perform monotonous lifting work, and at the same time, we avoid bottlenecks because palletising is faster and much more efficient than before,”

Anders Siefert, Maintenance Manager

Fully updated system

The continuous operation of the system, according to the Maintenance Manager, is due to a combination of the quality of the machinery and, most importantly, the service agreement the Søndersø factory has with DAN Palletiser – an agreement that includes four annual service visits, including a comprehensive service check during the planned production stop in the summer vacation. During these visits, DAN Palletiser's service technicians, as needed, replace wear parts such as chains, bearings, gears, and actuators.

Additionally, the system has been regularly upgraded with the help of DAN Palletiser's service department. Most recently, in the fall of 2017, the control panels were replaced with new and more user-friendly ones, and at the same time, the palletisers received new frequency converters.

”The upgrades mean that today we operate with a fully updated system despite its 13 years,” tells Anders Siefert, Maintenance Manager.

The satisfaction with the DAN Palletiser system is so high that he expects to expand it with another palletiser in the near future:

"The capacity of our factory is continually increasing due to increased sales and production, so to avoid bottlenecks in palletising, we will need another palletiser within a few years. The smart thing about the DAN Palletiser system is that we can simply expand it and build on it, so we don't have to invest in an entirely new complete system."

Frictionless cooperation

According to Anders Siefert, the collaboration with Dan Palletiser has "just worked" from day one. This positive experience led Orkla to invest in a palletising system for their nut center, which now also operates with fully automated palletising of their products.

"We have a really good collaboration with Dan Palletiser. In addition to the planned service checks, they also assist in case of breakdowns and when support is needed. We always feel prioritised when we call them." ends Anders Siefert.