Soft drinks supplier Clearly Drinks has brought more order and efficiency to its palletising operations after the installation oftwo newsystemsfrom SIPA. Clearly Drinks, in Sunderland, North East England, sought out SIPA, headquartered in Vittorio Veneto, Italy, for the supply and installation ofthenewpalletising system and pack conveyors. The project also involved the relocation of existing equipment to provide valuable space and access for maintenance.
SIPA supplied aconventionalGenius PTFPalletiser,a Robby PAL PFrobotic Palletiser,stretch wrapping machines andassociatedconveyors. The end of line automation was for two bottle fillinglines that aredelivering28,000bottles per hourin different formats. SIPA and their associates managed to complete the installation on time, despite constraints imposed by COVID-19.
Cristian Tedeschi the sales manager for complete lines, at SIPA said: “GeniusPTFis a modular project based on a standard double-braced central unit.It has highstructural rigidity anda high level ofpositioningcontroland precisionforthe different movements.Liftingis done using high-performance toothed beltsrather thanconventional chains.Maintenance requirement is minimal and was a particular focus for the customer such as non lubrication sealed for life bearings. On our latest version we have managed to cut noise while increasing top speed.
Theversion we installed for Clearly Drinks is asteady-pallettype,with single lane orthogonal low level product infeed for shrink-packs of PET bottles.It’s a fully automatic systemthatrequireslimited operator intervention. It’s extremely simpleto operate from theoperator control panel, whichcan be integrated with an advanced control and supervision system.”
The RobbyPAL PFsystemmeanwhileis a comprehensive approach developed by SIPA to meetneeds for packaging flexibility and efficiency for a wide range of containers and packaging.“It offers an extremely viable alternative to traditional palletising and depalletising systems,”Tedeschisays.“It’s very flexible,extremely precise and consistently fast,it has a smallfootprint,and it easily adapts to working areas of any size and layout.”
In this particular installation, the Robby system acts as a row Palletiser. It has apliers-type gripping head, with the size and shape of the grippers designed to handle rowsof shrink-packs.
Both the Genius and the Robby installationsincludea pad placing devicefor placinginterlayerson the pallet, as well as apallet magazinetoensureempty pallet feeding.Both also havefully automatic turntable stretch wrapping machines.
Mick HowardtheCEO of Clearly Drinks. said: “Having been in the industry for over 20 years, spendingpart of that time working in projects, I know very well the importance and experience required when executing projects. SIPA supplied a very professional service that was executed extremely well, especially with the added problems associated withthepandemic thatcreateda constantlymoving target of issues.
“SIPA proved that they are a force to be reckoned with. They offeredthe flexibility that was essential for our business through these unprecedented times, they never lost any impetus in delivering the project on time, working diligently to ensure we all achieved the end goal, whichisan impressive end-of-line automated system with both conventional and robotic palletising solutions.It was a pleasure working with them.
“The sub-contracted installation services supplied byPackserveprovided an experienced, competent team that worked safely and efficiently throughout,and communicated well with our own production and engineering staff.”
Clearly Drinks hadbeenin thebottlingbusinessfor over 130 years for many years known asVilla Drinks. It is now oneof the UK’s leading specialist bottlers with brandsthatincludePerfectly Clear, Northumbria Spring, Upstream and Revolution Waves, made withNorthumbria Spring waterthatflows directly fromitsonsite boreholes.
The company iscommitted to keepingitsenvironmental impact to a minimum: itscarbon footprint is an industry leading 0.14kgofCO2per litre. Clearly Drinks has alreadyachieved zero waste to landfill andiscommitted to continuing to limit waste energy and implement energy efficient technology across all areas ofits business. It hasISO14001 accreditation.