Day: 9 July 2019

Sitma Machinery, an Italian manufacturing company which specializes in designing and assembling machines, systems and turn-key solutions for the Packaging, Post-Press, DM/Transpromo and e-Logistics fields, have begun to heavily invest in expanding their know-how in the software sector. This is to develop programs to give customers better control over their manufacturing processes and to let them transform monitoring data into value added solutions for the customers themselves.

Since the company’s inception in Spilamberto – Italy, more than fifty years ago, innovation has been one of its most distinguishing features. Sitma has always been very attentive towards software development, something which blends well with the latest trends at Industry 4.0 level, especially in automation. The use of software to collect, process, and bring together big data to manage increasingly smart processes, means that Sitma are at the forefront of the industry. At the same time, Sitma seeks to simplify user interfaces, making them more user-friendly and intuitive. Feedback between machines and operators must be immediate, so that manufacturing becomes more and more nimble and efficient.

What are we doing at Sitma? “We want to sell ourselves as the best global technology partner for everyone,” says Stefano Nanni, CEO at Sitma. “At a time when services are increasingly more important than the actual product a company makes, we want to offer our customers a complete solution to let them interface with just one person, when they are looking for the best possible advice, installation and after-sales service.” “If this is a target we want to reach,” adding Engineer Nanni, “we have to bring together the mechanical side – which for us at Sitma means absolute reliability and the latest design – with the most efficient software possible. Co-Ware is this solution: a cooperative platform which gives absolutely efficient supervision of automated parts.”

L.A.C. Conveyors and Automation, working closely with long standing partner Interroll, have installed a full turnkey sortation system at a UK sorting facility of leading courier, Skynet Worldwide Express. The vertical crossbelt sorter at its core can achieve sorting rates of 4,000 parcels per hour.

Established in 1972, Skynet Worldwide Express has grown to become the globe’s largest independently owned express courier network with over 1,000 locations in 209 countries and territories. The company, which delivers everything from postcards to grand pianos, has its UK headquarters at Hounslow, adjacent to London’s Heathrow Airport. However, with a strong focus on providing the right solution through personal service, flexibility and attention to detail, the team at Hounslow found that its parcel capacity was under pressure.

The warehouse facility was originally built for storage only, but Skynet decided to install a new sorter system to keep up with increased customer demand. Here, the company turned to LAC Conveyors, an industry leading manufacturer of conveyor and automation systems, which in turn called upon the services and solutions of Interroll.

Primarily, the sorter was installed to deal with outbound parcels for customers in Europe and Asia, and therefore the accuracy of sort was the key differentiator. Effective space utilization was another demand set out by Skynet.

L.A.C. Conveyors and Automation, working closely with long standing partner Interroll, have installed a full turnkey sortation system at a UK sorting facility of leading courier, Skynet Worldwide Express. The vertical crossbelt sorter at its core can achieve sorting rates of 4,000 parcels per hour.

Established in 1972, Skynet Worldwide Express has grown to become the globe’s largest independently owned express courier network with over 1,000 locations in 209 countries and territories. The company, which delivers everything from postcards to grand pianos, has its UK headquarters at Hounslow, adjacent to London’s Heathrow Airport. However, with a strong focus on providing the right solution through personal service, flexibility and attention to detail, the team at Hounslow found that its parcel capacity was under pressure.

The warehouse facility was originally built for storage only, but Skynet decided to install a new sorter system to keep up with increased customer demand. Here, the company turned to LAC Conveyors, an industry leading manufacturer of conveyor and automation systems, which in turn called upon the services and solutions of Interroll.

Primarily, the sorter was installed to deal with outbound parcels for customers in Europe and Asia, and therefore the accuracy of sort was the key differentiator. Effective space utilization was another demand set out by Skynet.

Tompsett Burgess Growers has been farming, processing and storing carrots, parsnips and onions for over 50 years at Whitehall Farm near Ely, Cambridgeshire. With around 1050 acres of prime fen land, the family business produces over 75,000 tonnes of carrots and 9000 tonnes of parsnips a year, and with a late crop of carrots grown in Tayside, Scotland, Tompsett Burgess Growers is able to supply washed, graded and processed carrots to UK and European markets 52 weeks a year.

Moving heavy boxes of produce between processes, loading lorries and stacking boxes laden with root crops is punishing work that demands a fleet of robust and reliable forklift trucks. And working long hours throughout the year – inside and out, in all weathers – places a heavy onus on the fleet’s ability to perform under tough conditions. Ensuring consistent throughput on site and smooth loading of vehicles is absolutely essential to the efficient running of the business.

An on-going strategy for many years at Tompsett Burgess Growers has been to standardise the fleet on Doosan counterbalance trucks. So when it came to replacing one of its three hardworking Doosan trucks the business chose to replace it with one of Doosan’s latest 3500 kg capacity G35C-7 series gas powered counterbalance forklift trucks, complete with 3-stage free-lift mast.

Dan Regan, Plant Manager at Tompsett Burgess Growers, explains the importance of sourcing from one supplier of materials handling equipment. “We keep with the one supplier of forklift trucks as the Doosan trucks are tough and reliable and get the job done. It’s also convenient and straightforward when it comes to short-term hire, as we hire two extra trucks for handling onions from the middle of August to the middle of October, as well as at other peak times. It makes the paperwork very simple,” he says.

The new feature-rich Doosan 7 series truck came complete with integral side-shift as standard, along with LED lights for operating outside on dark winter afternoons, white noise reverse alarm for added safety and Doosan’s industry-leading sealed and oil-cooled disc brakes for reliable braking performance. Further design features included were large drive wheels, a heavy-duty steer axle and the strongest chassis available in the market place.

Safety and driver comfort were key considerations for the business. Clear all-round visibility, Doosan’s proprietary Operator Safety System and a rear grab-handle as standard offered the intrinsic safety standards Tompsett Burgess Growers was looking for, and the fully adjustable suspension seat, ergonomic cab layout and simple controls provided the driver comfort needed for long shifts.

Being a gas truck, the G35C-7 also came with Doosan’s award winning, swing-down gas bottle handling device for effortless and safe bottle changing.

On site at Tompsett Burgess Growers the new Doosan G35C-7 is primarily designated to duties in the onion store as it has a 3-stage free-lift mast well suited to stacking heavy boxes of onions up to 6m high. But it is equally well equipped for yard work loading lorries or for operating inside the factory where carrots are washed and graded.
“Although, principally, a standard vehicle there was one extra item we needed on the new truck,” says Dan Regan. “We asked for a fourth lever to be fitted, so that we could use the new truck with our roll-over attachment, used in loading hoppers for bag-filling or tipping root crops into trailers.” White tyres were also fitted for clean working in the carrot washing facility.

Summing up the overall on-site performance of the new Doosan G35C-7, Dan Regan says: “It performs well, it’s reliable and importantly, it’s comfortable to drive.”