Compact, high-capacity conveyor solution from ECS

In 2010 the company, a producer of speciality oils and fats for food and cosmetics manufacturers and which also produces products for retail, started a £4m investment programme to upgrade production of liquid and semi-liquid product supplied in tubs, bottle-in-boxes and bag-in-boxes.

The project involved complete refurbishment of the production area, installation of new filling machinery, including a reduction from four filling lines to three, and replacement of part of the existing conveyor system. This links the production area on the ground floor with the palletising and despatch area in a separate building and runs partly at high level above other production areas.

Because of the products involved, it was decided to install powered slat conveyors. The slatted belts are 400mm wide in order to accommodate the various tubs and boxes involved. These can be round or rectangular and weigh up to 20kg each.

To raise products from the ground floor to the upper level 5.84m above while using the least amount of floor space, ECS has installed a pair of spiral conveyors – one taking tubs and bottle-in-boxes from two filling lines and the other dedicated to a bag-in-box line. This required a smaller footprint than incline conveyors.

At the top of the spiral conveyors ECS has linked the new equipment to the existing system, which carries product at the upper level for 40m and then via a decline to the despatch area. Galvanised-steel platforms have been installed at the top of each spiral conveyor to give access for maintenance.

The twin line has a nominal throughput of 36 items a minute, and the single carton line is rated at 14 items a minute. The project was carried out in stages to allow AAK to continue production as normally as possible.  This involved ECS re-configuring existing conveying equipment to make space for the new system and working closely with production staff to minimise disruption.