Product category:
Electrostatics, lightning and earthing
News Release from: Meech International | Subject: Meech Static Eliminators at Tetrapak
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 July 2003
Tetrapak gotta lotta Bottle!
The Tetrapak blow-moulded bottle making plant in Essex used static control equipment from Meech to quickly solve a sticking problem in bagging up bottles coming off the production line
80 million bottles a year is the objective of one of the Tetrapak MPS new bottle making plants - and static control equipment from Meech is helping it meet those targets Located in the countryside of Hatfield Peverel in Essex, a brand new blow-moulded bottle making plant has been built and is being operated by Tetrapak on the dairy site of its client Arla Foods
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 9 Oct 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The factory manufactures the sterile sealed containers from raw materials delivered to the site and provides JIT production for Arla by delivering the bottles on conveyors literally on demand into the bottling complex.
In order to keep production running smoothly, even when there is a temporary lull in the requirement for the bottles, Arla allows Tetrapak to bag the bottles into sealed units, which are then immediately ready for use when required.
Initially this "bagging up" process caused problems as, during the processes of manufacture and transport around the factory, the blow-moulded bottles acquire considerable static charge.
Because the bottles are very light in weight this static charge has a powerful effect, causing them to cling to the conveying machinery, repel each other and generally react in unexpected and undesirable ways, making the bagging process very difficult.
Fortunately, the answer was quickly found.
Plant Manager, Nigel Sladden, called in Mark Jones, Technical Specialist from Meech Static Eliminators, who quickly diagnosed the problem and proposed a solution in the form of a Meech ionising blower.
The blower was easily installed over the transfer conveyor immediately prior to collation, from where it blows ionised air over the sealed bottles, removing the static and allowing the bottles to be moved and stacked with no further problems.
Nigel comments, "It was ironic that in a factory with millions of pounds worth of the very latest equipment in an air conditioned and temperature controlled environment such a simple and relatively low-cost piece of equipment made such a great difference to productivity". Request a free brochure from Meech International ...
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