Smurfit Kappa placed three requirements on conveyor technology manufacturer HaRo for a new conveyor system. Transport, cutting and buffering were to be covered by the new system at the Wrexen site. The central component is now a robust and durable link belt conveyor that enables the fully automated transport of special pallets weighing up to 1.5 tonnes.
Founded in 1934 as a company specialising in cardboard packaging for the Irish market, the Smurfit Kappa has established itself as one of the most important manufacturers of corrugated board, solid board and cardboard packaging. The company now has 350 production sites in 36 countries. The production sites, of which almost 50 are located in Germany alone, obtain their raw materials from the company's own forestry and paper mills. This also includes Smurfit Kappa Wrexen Paper & Board in Diemelstadt in northern Hesse, which specialises in the production of paper and board. Production of solid board with various papers for graphic applications, such as book covers or games.
The sustainability factor is particularly important in the production of all packaging: thanks to recycling systems, not only is the waste paper reused in the paper production process, but great importance is also attached to minimising waste when cutting the solid board produced at the Diemelstadt site. low waste laid. Just last year, Smurfit Kappa Wrexen Paper & Board installed a New circular shears for precise cuts, which were to be integrated into the internal material flow.
Link belt conveyor fulfils requirements
The company approached the Sauerland-based conveyor technology manufacturer with this request in 2022 HaRo Anlagen- und Fördertechnik GmbH in neighbouring Rüthen and specified its requirements: The wooden pallets loaded with solid board were to be automatically transported into the new cutting line at floor level in a pit provided for this purpose. A second system was to transport the cut sheets out of the machine to the pick-up point. In addition, the conveyor system was to Option for buffering and temporary storage of pallets and can be expanded with new conveyor components if required.
The HaRo Group was able to convince with a concept that reconciles the requirements thanks to the implementation of a link belt conveyor and has now been in use for almost six months. Markus Löseke, Head of Design at the HaRo Group, explains the details of the project: „Since Smurfit Kappa A wide variety of pallets in use we advised our customer to use a link belt conveyor.“ „Thanks to its sturdy construction and exceptional wear resistance, it can easily withstand the heavy weight of the conveyed goods, and installation at floor level within the pit - as is necessary at Smurfit Kappa - is also possible without any problems,“ adds Managing Director Christoph Hackländer. As the pallets are loaded and unloaded using a fork lift ant, the Conveyor mounting and removal points each with particularly robust link belts equipped.
Employees should also be protected. All loading and unloading points where employees are working with a fork lift ant are equipped with a Safety technology in the form of an interlock function equipped. This prevents people from entering the conveyor system and only starts the system once the task has been acknowledged by the employees at the touch of a button.
„The sheets are removed from the pallet by the machine and cut to the required size,“ explains Markus Löseke. Once the pallet has been processed, it is automatically transported as an empty pallet to the pick-up point using the link conveyor. The second conveyor system is used to transport the cut solid cardboard out of the circular shears and prepare it for further processing. Before the pallets are removed from the fork lift ant, a scales installed on the conveyor system can be used for weighing of each pallet.
20 pallets per hour can be transported in this way in three-shift operation five days a week. As the conveyed goods are still unsecured during the process described above, the entire Conveyor system equipped with frequency technology. Christoph Hackländer explains the special features:
„The frequency control guarantees smooth and jerk-free transport over the entire length of the link conveyor so that the unsecured goods cannot fall off.“
The new conveyor technology also offers the option of buffering the pallets during peak workloads. „Five pallets at a time can be stowed on both systems and stored as required, which is particularly advantageous when Open pallets temporarily stored until further processing should be,“ emphasises Markus Löseke from HaRo.
The HaRo Group was also entrusted with controlling the conveyor system. This required an intelligent interface between the new circular shear and the conveyor system. „Thanks to our in-house electrical design department, we can also guarantee our customers this service,“ says Christoph Hackländer about the HaRo Group's portfolio. The portfolio also offers the option of Expansion of existing facilities - as Smurfit Kappa already defined in its enquiry.
