Irish drinks manufacturer takes its supply chain to the next level

A leading beverage manufacturer in Ireland has installed a Qimarox Prorunner mk5 vertical conveyor in its factory. The conveyor is designed to smoothly transport the beverage packaging from the production floor to higher levels where the next stage of product processing takes place.

Due to increasing demand, the beverage manufacturer had expanded production capacity which was putting pressure on its existing processes. In particular, the vertical transport from the production floor was struggling with delays and inefficiencies as moving cardboard boxes to higher levels was being largely done manually and with forklifts.

What the company needed was a robust vertical transport system that would seamlessly integrate with its existing conveyors and meet the stringent requirements of food production.

The Qimarox partner in Ireland, Noreside Engineering, was responsible for the implementation of the project which resulted in a smoother flow and a safer working environment with increased efficiency.

Noreside designed and integrated a stainless steel conveyor system into the final packaging process for the beverage manufacturer. This system handles the transport of beverage packaging from the production floor to higher levels, where the boxes are further processed and finally palletised. The heart of this system is the Prorunner mk5 from Qimarox, which is a continuous vertical transport system that offers high throughput and a compact footprint, low energy consumption and low maintenance. The modular design makes integration into the Noreside conveyor system easy, resulting in a smooth connection between the different levels.

Thanks to the modular design, capacity can easily be scaled up in the future. All components are made of stainless steel and comply with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) guidelines.

The Qimarox technology was selected for several reasons:

• It moves packaging of various shapes and sizes, from boxes to crates.
• It enables continuous high-capacity transport.
• It saves valuable floor space thanks to compact design.
• It consumes little energy, requires little maintenance and has a long lifespan.

Since the installation, the Irish drinks manufacturer's operations have improved in several areas:

• Greater flow without stagnation during vertical transport.
• Safer working environment by reducing manual work.
• Compliant with GMP and EHEDG standards due to hygienic design in stainless steel.
• Optimal use of space compared to the use of forklifts.

The end result is an improved final packaging process with a smooth flow of goods from the packaging machine through to the distribution process, taking the beverage manufacturer's supply chain performance to the next level.

Image credit: iStock.com/norkim