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MMCI Helps Nation's Largest Food Producer with Case Sorting Challenge

The nitty-gritty? How to take an existing conveyor system that is intermixed with cases of new product and to identify and sort the proper product onto a new conveyor system that feeds a new case palletizer.

Timing is everything when launching a new product in the highly competitive food industry, and operations staff often need to act quickly. This client turned to us to help them optimize efficiency within their strict time frames.

Boxes on Conveyor

The Solution

MMCI Senior Sales Engineer Bob Weller evaluated the application and the existing conveyor layout. He recommended the use of a 1:2 activated roller belt (ARB) sorter, along with a 24 volt flat motor no-touch case accumulation system that would feed cases to a new high-level, high-speed palletizer and stretch wrapper. The integrated solution also included electrical controls and installation.

Boxes Going Up Conveyor

"This was a difficult challenge from the beginning," said Weller. "But the ARB was successfully engineered into the existing conveyor system. The sorter was operating at 35 cases per minute, and the 24v flat motor case accumulation conveyor provided the gentle product handling and zero pressure accumulation they required."

Down the line, the case palletizer produced square loads into a new stretch wrapper. After that, full pallets were integrated into the existing warehouse pallet conveyor system.

Columbia Case Palletizer

Equipment Integrated

  • Omni Metalcraft ARB Sorter
  • Hytrol E24 Flat Motor Accumulation Conveyor
  • TGW Systems Belt Conveyor
  • Columbia High-Level Case Palletizer
  • Lantech Automatic Stretch Wrapper

The Results

"MMCI met the customer's expectations for an innovative solution. The ARB technology had never been used by this manufacturer to sort cases before, and we had no room for error. With everything on the line, this customer trusted MMCI to ensure the technology worked instantly—and it did. We'll be bringing these types of engineering innovations to other plants for this manufacturer in the near future."

– Bob Weller, MMCI Senior Sales Engineer

How Can We Help?

At any stage of your automation project, we can help. Call us at 314-438-3300 or fill out the form below.