Month: March 2020

The Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation (TIMCON) is today asking the Government to clarify urgently that workers in wooden pallet and packaging companies are included in its list of key workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

Last night (19th March) TIMCON asked its members to sign a letter calling for the clarification. Some 24 businesses signed overnight, with more expected to sign during today.

The letter reads as follows:

As timber packaging and pallet businesses, we write to stress in the strongest terms the importance of including supply chain workers in the Government’s definition of key workers, during the COVID-19 crisis.

The European Commission (EC) stated this week that, while protecting the health of European citizens, we must also ensure that that they still have access to essential goods, especially food and medicines, demand for which is currently incredibly high.

To do this, we absolutely need workers to be free to carry out the physical work that supports supply chains. This includes sawmill workers, pallet repairers and manufacturers, and drivers of lorries and forklifts.

These people cannot work from home. We need them to be there in person to keep goods moving from origin to consumers.
If this doesn’t happen, the pharmaceutical, food and drink supply chains upon which people rely, will fail.

With schools across the UK and Ireland now shut, we need assurance these staff will be included on the Government’s key worker list as a matter of urgency.

The Government has listed workers involved in ‘food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods’ and those ‘working on transport systems through which supply chains pass’. However, it has not specified which job roles are included.

The Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation (TIMCON) is today asking the Government to clarify urgently that workers in wooden pallet and packaging companies are included in its list of key workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

Last night (19th March) TIMCON asked its members to sign a letter calling for the clarification. Some 24 businesses signed overnight, with more expected to sign during today.

The letter reads as follows:

As timber packaging and pallet businesses, we write to stress in the strongest terms the importance of including supply chain workers in the Government’s definition of key workers, during the COVID-19 crisis.

The European Commission (EC) stated this week that, while protecting the health of European citizens, we must also ensure that that they still have access to essential goods, especially food and medicines, demand for which is currently incredibly high.

To do this, we absolutely need workers to be free to carry out the physical work that supports supply chains. This includes sawmill workers, pallet repairers and manufacturers, and drivers of lorries and forklifts.

These people cannot work from home. We need them to be there in person to keep goods moving from origin to consumers.
If this doesn’t happen, the pharmaceutical, food and drink supply chains upon which people rely, will fail.

With schools across the UK and Ireland now shut, we need assurance these staff will be included on the Government’s key worker list as a matter of urgency.

The Government has listed workers involved in ‘food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods’ and those ‘working on transport systems through which supply chains pass’. However, it has not specified which job roles are included.

Leading eCommerce and specialist mail services firm The Delivery Group has outlined its current position in light of the Coronavirus situation.

Paul Carvell, Chairman, the Delivery Group comments: “Obviously things are changing on a daily basis and we are continuously monitoring the situation and preparing our response accordingly.

“As it stands, we are talking to each of our existing customers and working with them to minimise the impact of the situation on their business.

“We have capacity to relocate services across our network quickly if the situation requires it. We have access to a wide range of delivery partner networks and suppliers and can therefore work with customers to provide alternative solutions where appropriate.”

The Delivery Group has sites in Kent, Warrington, Bristol, Luton and Central London, and the business is keen to use this capacity to support businesses in need during the current crisis.

Carvell continues: “We also want other businesses in the logistics, retail and e-commerce marketplaces to know that we have the capacity and expertise to assist them if required during these challenging times. If businesses are stuck with storage, automation, line-haul or final mile logistics, we have the established partnerships with carriers to enable swift action on their behalf.

“In terms of our own staff, we are taking full precautions in line with guidance issued by Public Health England. As a temporary precaution, we will not be asking people to sign documents for all deliveries, we will be asking them for their name and we will sign on their behalf. We are also asking drivers to respect the decision of our customers and delivery partners with regards to access to their facilities and to maintain hygiene precautions at all times.”

The UK’s eight pallet networks joined forces to put their 750 depots and 23,500 strong distribution fleet at the UK government’s disposal for emergency supply for critical services. The networks say they are uniquely placed to ensure timely and reliable supply of emergency goods to anywhere in the UK. Between them they have 30,000 employees, over 750 depots, a fleet of 23,500 vehicles and offer 100% coverage by postcode.

APN Chairman Paul Sanders says: “We are uniquely placed to offer our services to ensure that emergency supplies coming from anywhere and destined for any corner of the UK, can be delivered quickly, safely and reliably to support critical services, whether in rural or urban settings.

“We would urge the government to take advantage of our unique skills set and infrastructure at this time of national crisis. The supply of emergency supplies for critical operations – not least ensuring food in our supermarkets and well stocked pharmacies and hospitals – is one of the most important aspects of protecting the UK public during this crisis.”

Plastic Omnium are a global company whilst remaining an independent family-owned business, who are committed to delivering first class products in the fast moving and ever-changing automotive environment.

The challenge
Plastic Omnium wanted to reduce dust contamination and the over handling of moulded parts entering paint environments. Excessive handling causes issues at the paint line as the moulded parts could become contaminated with grease, and even suffer from electrostatic issues which attract dust and unwanted particles, potentially affecting the quality of paint finishes.

The solution
L.A.C. Conveyors and Automation were approached to help develop a conveying system that would reduce the manual handling of the moulds to a bare minimum. L.A.C.’s own in-house design team worked with the sales department and customer to develop a solution that fitted requirements. The final design allowed for parts to be placed directly by an operator from the moulding operation onto a 2000mm wide belt conveyor which was built in two tiers. Each tier would convey a left-hand and right-hand part from the moulding process to the paint workshop. Parts are manually loaded in rows of four. Instead of running continually, the conveyor has been configured to be indexed along. This is achieved by the operator who loads the parts pressing a button to move the conveyor forward. The conveyor can be indexed in both directions should there be a requirement to return parts. The overall length is 12000mm. The conveyor belt is made from PVC with a plastic mechanical joint, helping ensure the products are not damaged during transit. Altogether, a substantial and unusual bespoke conveyor solution.

To ensure that minimal contamination occurs within the activity, L.A.C. installed a brush strip and waste trap under the return element of the belt conveyor. The brush strip helps to keep the belt surface clean during operation, which reduces the potential for contamination of the parts destined for painting. The conveyor was also designed in a way that allows for the customer to bolt-on a system that helps remove static electricity.

The whole conveyor assembly has been mounted on castors to allow easy cleaning and maintenance operations to be supported.

to the structure being installed, a full F.A.T. was provided at L.A.C.’s own Nottingham factory. Once approved L.A.C.’s engineers ensured a seamless delivery and installation was provided whilst Plastic Omnium had a planned operations shutdown. This helped guarantee the customers production processes were unaffected.

www.lacconveyors.co.uk