< Previous20:Layout 1 18/5/12 11:44 Page 1RELOCATIONwww.fdiforum.net21It’s perhaps not surprising that, giventhe move towards consolidation in theindustry in recent years, companies willoften have the burden of a surplus ofsimilar property. Of course, increasedfuel bills have inevitably lead to manycompanies looking for sites moreconvenient for distributors and suppliers.There are certainly examples of thistaking place in the sector recently. Oneobvious example is that of Kraft Foodswho announced last year that it intendedto see its North America-based snacksand grocery businesses become twoindependent public companies before theend of 2012. This has inevitably led to areview of existing locations, and meansthat by the end of the year the company’sBeverages business unit in New York andthe Planters brand in New Jersey willrelocate to Chicago, which is also whereKraft will base their new global snackscompany. The North American regionfor the global snacks company will bebased in New Jersey.Meanwhile, Nestle have announcedthey will be transferring UK coffeeproduction from its Hayes site to theirTutbury premises in Derbyshire, a site inwhich they are investing £200 million.Nestle emphasise that bringing togetherall its coffee production on one site willcreate numerous efficiencies, while thereare also obvious advantages from movingoutside Greater London, with all thetransport problems that brings about.Nestle will also benefit financially fromselling off the Hayes site which hasparticularly high real estate value.Relocating to a greener building canhave obvious benefits. Continuing towork out of old, inefficient buildings willincreasingly become a strain on thecompany’s bottom line – and of courseconcepts such as the Feed-In Tariff andRenewable Heat Initiative can seebusinesses actually make money frombetter environmental practices. While it’strue the recent review of the Feed-InTariffs has led to a decrease in the cashon offer, it doesn’t mean it’s no longerworth doing as there will still be anoticeable amount generated in payback.Many new buildings, such as the G ParkSittingbourne, now include environmentalinitiatives in their standard specification,and schemes also exist to help companiesgain assistance in going green, such as theCarbon Trust’s loans scheme where smallcompanies can apply for funds to spendon such items as low energy lights andbiomass boilers. The scheme started lastyear and will run to 2014, and through itspartnership with Siemens, the Trust aremaking £550 million of Energy EfficiencyFinancing available.With energy efficiency a key factor,businesses can not only save energy bymoving to more effective properties, butcould even make money in the long run.Companies such as Crown Holdings are opening newplants to better serve developing markets, such astheir new beverage can plant in Hangzhou, ChinaClegg Food Projects’ new cutting edge factory forGreggs in North East England featuresenvironmentally beneficial features, including PV andsolar energy systems and heat recovery from a centralrefrigeration systemA fresh startMany businesses in the food and drink sector are regularly taking the opportunity torenew and refresh their property portfolioMany businesses in the food and drink sector are regularly taking the opportunity torenew and refresh their property portfolioA fresh start21:Layout 1 18/5/12 09:17 Page 122www.fdiforum.netMATERIALS HANDLINGTo free up space within the existingwarehouse complex at the Weetabixheadquarters in Burton Latimer,Northamptonshire, and to reduce thenumber of pallets currently held in offsitestorage, the company decided to invest inan automated storage and retrievalsystem. TGW has designed andintegrated the new automated warehousesolution into the existing operation. TGW designed a cost-effective solutionfor Weetabix, where pallets are conveyedand handled two pallets high, to optimisethroughput and space. There are 22,000pallet locations in the warehouse, servicedby three highly dynamic fully automaticTGW Magnus pallet handling cranes,supplying multiple pallet deep storagetubes with the TGW Muli satellitevehicles. This new solution allows for aperformance of storing and retrievingapproximately two hundred loads perhour.Philip Steeds, Sales Director of TGW,says, “We have deployed the TGW loadrecovery access system for this type ofapplication. It allows safe access forqualified operators into the storage tubesto recover a failed or damaged load andcan also be deployed in support of themaintenance and health and safetyactivity. The Magnus & Muli is used todeploy and recover the access cages intoand from these storage tubes.”To allow operations to continue whilethe new solution was installed, TGWphased the installation works andcoordinated every step of the realisationand transition with the ongoing liveoperations. The new warehouse solutionnow supplies customers around the worldwith the Weetabix family of brands, andWeetabix says, “The design is veryrobust, with really good performance andutilisation.”Weetabix ‘fuels the family’ with TGW TechnologyThe WeetabixFood Companyhave invested in astate of the artpallet warehouse,designed andintegrated byTGW.22-25:Layout 1 18/5/12 09:20 Page 1MATERIALS HANDLINGwww.fdiforum.net23Materials Handling hascome a long way in the lastten years and this is due inno small part to thecreativity of those whosupport the industry.Materials handling has long suffered anunfair stigma as one of the most accidentprone parts of any industrial process,with more fatal and serious injuriesoccurring here than in any other part of aproduction line. Though many healthand safety gurus cite this fact as a lack ofsufficient care in the workplace, the truthis that this is likely higher due to theinherent dangers of the industry.Efficiency is an obvious and necessarypart of any business, and as suchmaterials handling simply must deal withheavy loads, often stored in very highplaces, to more efficiently use space.Considering also that this industry hasthe most direct human contact than sayan automated production line would, it isperhaps obvious that injuries will be anunfortunate certainty. Methods must betaken then to minimise this risk at allmoments of the chain, so that seriousinjury could not realistically occur unlessa worker truly ignores all protocol andthus wilfully puts their own life at risk. Truly eliminating the possibility ofinjury would require removing thehuman element entirely, and as such inthis current level of technology might notbe feasible. As such it’s important to finda good balance between profitability,efficiency and safety in all aspects of theline. It’s not always the case thatadhering to health and safety must costvast amounts of money, in some cases itcan even result in immediately noticeablesavings. A recent incident in 2012 saw a UKsupermarket faced with a £2.5 milliondamages bill, after a wooden pallet rackedten pallets high broke in its automatedstorage system. These kinds of costs canseem completely unfair, and yet it is theamount that can be levelled at peoplewho fall foul of legislation. The cause of the incident in questionwas the pallet in question, and the factthat it was made of wood. Jim Hardisty,Managing Director ofGoplasticpallets.com says, “You can’t besure that a wooden pallet is capable ofbearing the weight of your goods. Thereason for this is that the strength oftimber varies. Make a hundred woodenpallets one month and test them and theymight all have the same loading capacity,but make another hundred pallets a fewmonths later and there is no telling how24 FindingthatbalancePHOTO: TGW-GROUPFindingthatbalance22-25:Layout 1 18/5/12 09:20 Page 224www.fdiforum.netMATERIALS HANDLINGthe capacity of these pallets might differ.” This might cause nothing more thanwasted time if the accident occurs atground level, perhaps a few damagedgoods as well. But considering that formany space can equate to money, it’sbecome increasingly common to havepallets stored and sorted at elevatedlevels, which could see a pallet fall on aworker with instantly fatal consequences. Plastic goods offer more tensilestrength than dead wood, which makesplastic containers and pallets a saferchoice in materials handling. An addedadvantage is that they also tend to have alonger lifespan, often up to andexceeding ten years. Considering thatcompanies regularly spend large amountsof capital on ensuring they have asuitable logistics and handling system inplace, it seems odd that many in theindustry still make use of wooden palletsin their systems. To many it will nodoubt be a case of lack of knowledge orsimply tradition, but it’s an unfortunatecase that business managers are just aslikely to fall for the maxim “if it works,why change it?” as other normal people.Failing to take notice of potentialsavings as soon as they are madeavailable, can often mean that when acrisis situation erupts later down the line,the capital necessary to avert the disasterPlastic pallets are strong,durable and lessvulnerable to damagethan wooden palletsPHOTO: GOPLASTICPALLETS.COM 22-25:Layout 1 18/5/12 09:20 Page 3or solve the problem, is not readily available.It’s more important to cut what costs can becut whenever possible, and either save orinvest what money costs are cut. There’s more in the materials handlingindustry than pallets however and astechnology continues to change, so do therequirements and potential benefits of newermaterials handling systems. From safer andmore efficient forklifts, to complete newlogistics systems, often the best way to findout about these, and to get a good deal, is todeal with a fully integrated systems solutioncompany. These businesses can work anentire materials handling and logistics systemfrom start to finish, and their continuedsuccess often relies on their reputation andability to perform above and beyond whatindividuals could do. What’s more they mightoften have contacts and contracts withexisting suppliers of other equipment andmachinery, and they may be able to get amore favourable deal than a company coulddirectly. This is obviously much easier to considerwhen a company is starting out, as it offersmore freedom to the solutions designers tomake the most efficient solution they can, with the largeinitial starting capital. But for those who already have systemsin place, which might be outdated, it’s often difficult toconsider where to start. What’s more, it can seem likepotential savings might not balance the large initialinvestments of completely replacing all their old equipment.Again it occurs to many that while they could possibly makeserious savings, the initial costs and downtimes of theinvestment might be too much to consider, especially in thiseconomic climate. It doesn’t have to be that way, however, TGW LogisticsGroup, for instance are one such company who handle allaspects of a logistics and materials handling supply line, andwhile they can work from new, they are also able to retrofitold equipment to work within a new supply line. In this wayit’s still possible to get the most out of new technology,without replacing all of the old equipment and machinery. Fully automated lines can also be considered in areas suchas warehouses and distribution centres, where humaninteraction can be limited to just software users andsupervisors. The initial investment costs of such a venturecan often be a put off to many, even though the return oninvestment should be quite quick. If such a situation were tobe considered however, it would be worth seeing whatsoftware systems might be necessary to work the newautomated line, and from that, what training might need tobe offered to instruct workers on using it. MATERIALS HANDLINGwww.fdiforum.net25System Logisticssupply Grupo HerdezGrupo Herdez is one of Mexico’s leadingcompanies, which produces and deals morethan six hundred products with high visibility inthe markets in which it operates.Herdez’s main requirement was to create amodern and technologically advanced logistics siteto serve Mexico City and the neighbouring states. They thereforedecided to equip the new production site with a storagewarehouse that would ensure high storage capacity and efficientmanagement. Grupo Herdez chose to partner with SystemLogistics because their picking systems perfectly suit the HerdezSKU profile with an easy and balanced solution.The warehouse designed by System Logistics is dedicated tofinished product storage in an automatic vertical warehouse witha capacity of 37,440 pallet slots. The loading units are 39 x 47 inCHEP pallets. The Automatic Vertical Warehouse is composed offour 112 ft high bi-pallet two-column stacker cranes that slidealong an aisle 590 ft long. Maximum capacity is 2645 lbs perloading unit.The products coming from the outside and directly fromproduction enter the warehouse through four bays. The productsexit the warehouse through seven pairs of bays served by tenSystem Vehicle Loop shuttle vehicles. The total flows in thisconfiguration are ninety incoming and 150 outgoing pallets anhour.The system designed and constructed by System Logistics iscapable of handling a flow of more than four thousand crates anhour for a peak of 65,000 crates a day and requires a workforce ofonly fifteen to twenty people. This simple, low-cost solutionallows the low, medium and high movement references to beconcentrated in one area, thus merging the advantages of “man togoods” with “goods to man” solutions.For more information, visit www.systemlogistics.com22-25:Layout 1 18/5/12 09:20 Page 426www.fdiforum.netDISPLAY REFRIGERATIONRefrigeration is an absolute necessityfor almost all stages of the food and drinkindustry. With our products generallybeing highly perishable and subject to themost intense scrutiny imaginable byretailers and supermarkets, the veryindustry of keeping food fresh and cool isa big one. It’s also been a fast changingone. Whether it’s a supermarket withhundreds of display refrigeration units, orsimply a small food service outlet,refrigerants have and will always be ofkey importance in the displayrefrigeration market. It’s unlikelyhowever, that many people will have inthe past fully considered whatrefrigerants they have used, and thedifferent options available to them.Refrigerants have been around for oversixty years now, and they have rapidlychanged as new ones are found, utilised,and then replaced once more. The firstinstances of refrigerants included MethylChloride and ammonia, which were laterreplaced after the various safety issueswere highlighted about them, particularlythe dangers of leaks which could put aperson in a coma with apparent ease.The next generation to be discovered andutilised were the HCFCs, orhydrochlorofluorocarbons. These weregenerously used for another fifty yearsbefore the world started to focus on thevarious issues surrounding ourenvironment. These were then slowlyphased out of use as part of the F GasRegulation in 2006. With the mostcommon HCFC, R22, being made illegalto be installed in a virgin system by 2009. The main reason for this is that thevarious HCFC’s had a huge impact onthe environment in terms of greenhousegasses and global warming. The officiallevel of which is measured by GWP orglobal warming potential. The originallyused R11 scored at a staggering 4000GWP, while R22 was over 1700 GWP.To compare, companies with someinvestment could use CO2, which is just1 GWP. The race for REFRIGERANTSUpcoming changes to regulation and taxation, means it’s all heating up for therefrigeration industryThe low front Genova display case from Pastorfrigor is an openwall cabinet which has a low front panel of only 370mm. It isdistributed in the UK by Cold Service Distribution26-27:Layout 1 18/5/12 09:21 Page 1DISPLAY REFRIGERATIONwww.fdiforum.net27Since the period of HCFC’s, theindustry has been firmly using variousHFCs or hydrofluorocarbons. These weretypically considered safer and easier touse, though their impact on theenvironment was still not as low as manyenvironmentalists and governments trulywanted. It was probably inevitable thenthat the HFC reign would have to cometo an end, and that following the pastchanges it would one day be phased outof the industry. Such is what experts believe will be theresult of the further research performedon the F Gas Regulations in the comingmonths. In some areas there are alreadycarbon taxes being introduced this June,such as in Australia and the US, wheretaxes on GWP over a certain amount willresult in huge increases in prices forparticular refrigerants. Currently R404-Ais the most widely used refrigerant in theEU, and prices on that could increase byas much as 300% to 400%. There are many within the industrywho are calling for less action and moreconsultation on the matter, citing thatwhile the GWP of certain refrigerantscan be high, they are judged on ahundred year basis, and that the trueimpact of the changes being made willnot have the results that the governmentsexpect. The harsh fact that many in thefood and drink industry will have toaccept however is that the changes arealready being made, and attempts tosubvert them will not lead to the desiredresults, as one of the single largest votewinners nowadays is commitment toenvironmental change. Obviously very few companies aregoing to be able to stomach a 300%increase in their refrigerant costs, whichmeans alternative methods need to beconsidered to meet the demand. Oneoption that many supermarkets aretrialling at the moment is switching theirdisplay refrigeration units to run on Co2.This has a GWP of 1 and is a natural gas,so there would be no extra taxes on theuse of it. What’s more, supporters of theidea say they have noticed strongimprovements in efficiency afterswitching to Co2, and that the ROI isnot as long as many first believed. Though it may be a clean and naturalgas, Co2 is notoriously difficult to use.For a start it requires much thicker pipesand gauge componentry. This initialinvestment could see all the old systemneeding to be replaced, already a hugeinvestment. What’s more a good heatrecovery system is needed in order to runCo2 efficiently, so unless you alreadyhave one of those in place it will costmore still. Unlike other refrigerants, if there is apower cut the Co2 being used in thesystem will immediately vent to air,wasting it all. So it might becomenecessary to have an alternativegenerator or power source on hand tokeep a factory running in the event of ablack out. This would require anengineer to come out and recharge thesystem every time this happens, so youmight need to prepare for that as well. A final criticism of Co2 would alsoneed to be levelled at those who havebeen reporting such an increase inefficiency. Considering it requires a fullretrofit of a plant, one would expect anincrease in efficiency regardless, if youare removing almost 90% of your oldmachinery, and replacing it with brandnew models.The final option for many is going tobe the newly introduced HFO market,touted as the next logical step in thegeneration of refrigerants. These haverelatively low levels of GWP, and as suchshould be safe for the moment from theattention of the EU regulators. HFOssuch as the new R1234yf engineered byDuPont and Honeywell, have a GWP aslow as five. Considering this is still a gasbased refrigerant such as the HFCs, theamount of retrofitting that may need tobe carried out on a site should beminimal. It’s possible that the F Gas Regulationsmay in the future expand to cover thisnew generation as well, but for now thechoice for businesses ought to be clear.Allow the costs of refrigeration in allparts of the food and drink industry totriple, or switch to a cleanersystem. The interior workings of arefrigeration unit can bejust as important as theexterior26-27:Layout 1 18/5/12 09:21 Page 228www.fdiforum.netVISION, INSPECTION & DETECTIONWith demand for the highest standardsrife among consumers, even on mass-produced everyday items, there is noexcuse for letting inferior products loose on themarket. There are all sorts of solutions available,from metal detection to automated systemsthat can detect labelling and placing errorsand alert you or your operatives todefects.The range of solutions must bedizzying to manufacturers but thereseems to be a solution foreverything. For metal detection, thesimplest solution is often the best.Simply employing magnets in certainareas which will be exposed to theatmosphere, be it while passingthrough conveyors, chutes or troughs.The physical aspect of strong magnetsmeans that these must be placed wherethe food is either raw, passing throughwithout packaging or just before it ispackaged. The strong attraction that will occurwill remove every last splinter of metal from mostfoods and employed on pipes and chutes for liquidsmeans peace of mind. What happens if packaging contains metal? Thesame simple logic applies as use of metal detectionis essential, though not with magnets, butintegrated systems. Metal detectors are often builtinto other machines to save on space and expense.Checkweighers, for example are a common locationfor combining the detection process into anothertask which can be performed together. As well as weighing the products for any giveawayrate, where too much product is being dispensed31 Seeking out theimpuritiesContamination and imperfections in food and drink products andpackaging are unacceptable, to both retailers and consumers alike. Sowhat advances have been made in automation of detection?Cognex provide many high-quality vision systems, includingmonitoring products via highquality cameras which canrecognise programmableelementsPHOTO: COGNEX28-32:Layout 1 18/5/12 11:02 Page 128-32:Layout 1 18/5/12 11:02 Page 2Next >