Industrial Packaging
March / April 2021
BULKDISTRIBUTOR
Learning lessons from our shops
19
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The chemical industry can learn from the retail sector ’ s response to Covid-19 ,” reckons Schoeller Allibert UK The reusable transit packaging company has shared insight into how the chemical supply chain can learn from the retail sector ’ s adaptations for Covid-19 operation . The manufacturer , which serves both industries , has noted key differences in how the two sectors have shored up their supply chains and believes that better sharing of best practice between the two could help deliver a more robust chemical industry and underpin the innovation and resilience of the sector . Nick James , sales director – chemicals for Schoeller Allibert UK , commented : “ Our business sits in a very privileged position , with a bird ’ s eye view of both food and chemical manufacturing . Too often , these industries are siloed , despite having a great deal in common . From our perspective as a supplier to both , we have seen challenges and successes on both sides , and there are fantastic opportunities for the chemical sector to learn from how retailers responded to
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Dacro 14 Epicor Software 9 Fort Vale 13 Gröninger Cleaning Systems 4 ITCO 20 Lamilux Composites 15 MRI Software 11 Murphy Transport 6 NTTank 5 Peacock Container 3 Perolo 14 Premier Bulk Liquids Alliance 8 Savvy 10 Scully Signal 1 Signode Netherlands BV 18 Silver / CIMS 7 Stolt Nielsen 2 TWS 4 WS Transportation 16
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Events
The following event dates were correct at time to going to press
Transport Logistic 4-7 May 2021 Munich , Germany With exhibition cancelled , the organisers have decided to go ahead with the associated conference in a virtual format www . transportlogistic . de
PBLA 18-20 May 2021 www . pblalliance . com
UKIFDA Expo 2021 7-8 July 2021 Liverpool , UK https :// ukifda . org
Intermodal Asia 20-22 July 2021 Shanghai , China www . intermodal-asia . com
Multimodal 19-21 October 2021 NEC , Birmingham , UK www . multimodal . org . uk
StocExpo 8-10 March 2022 Rotterdam , Netherlands www . stocexpo . com
Publisher : Mike Reardon , mike @ bulk-distributor . com , Tel : + 44 ( 0 ) 1565 653283 Managing Editor : Neil Madden , neil @ bulk-distributor . com , Tel : + 33 ( 0 ) 3 88 60 30 68 Advertising Director : Anne Williams , anne @ bulk-distributor . com , Tel : + 44 ( 0 ) 20 854 13130 Circulation : Berni Chetham , berni @ andpublishing . co . uk , Tel : + 44 ( 0 ) 1565 653283 © Ashley & Dumville Publishing Bulk Distributor is published by Ashley & Dumville Publishing Caledonian House , Tatton Street , Knutsford , Cheshire WA16 6AG , United Kingdom www . bulk-distributor . com
Covid-19 . “ From the outset , retailers escalated their use of big data and used it more strategically , which hasn ’ t been as common in the chemical sector ,” James continued . “ Audit and insight specialist KPMG notes that the industry has been a ‘ slow mover ’ in adopting digital and data technologies in key areas such as machine learning and AI , which rely on big data to be effective . By making better use of sales and customer behaviour data , retailers have been able to shore up sales in a remarkably volatile market . “ Rather than trying to underpin every single process at once , which could easily have been the knee-jerk reaction , retailers streamlined their supply chains to focus on core ranges , to support their logistics and stockholding scenarios . It ’ s the ideal time for the chemical industry to follow suit and identify what data is available through production , storage and sales and to use it to create more agility and value in the supply chain .” The manufacturer also commented on the rapid acceleration of automation in the retail sector , which has allowed many brands to continue
Schoeller Allibert ’ s ChemiFlow IBC – the chemical industry can learn much from the retail sector in its response to the pandemic
operating at speed . Schoeller Allibert has worked with high-profile retailers to switch from existing containers systems to durable returnable transit packaging ( RTP ). James went on : “ There is a great deal of opportunity for the chemical sector to explore greater digital automation . Intelligence agency McKinsey notes in its 2020 insight report on the state of the chemical sector that it has typically been a slow adopter of digital and analytical technology , which is why we see so much potential on the table for automation and big data-driven decisions . There is certainly movement towards this in the industry in terms of chemical handling , but overall take-up has been slow . “ From the start of the Covid-19 pandemic , retailers – particularly FMCG – were able to use digital automation as a means to speed up logistics and ensure accuracy , with technologies such as RFID showing real commercial value . In fact , we have been able to assist larger retailers in turning warehousing and logistics into a competitive advantage with recyclable transit packaging that enhances space , time and manpower efficiency , while supporting sustainability initiatives at the same time .” To help the chemical sector achieve the same results , Schoeller Allibert recently launched the ChemiFlow IBC , a 100 perecent plastic UNapproved container purpose-designed for the sector . Created to blend sustainable operation with durability , security and handling excellence and in response to the cross-industry demand for digital automation , the range can be equipped with IoT ( internet of things ) and RFID ( radio frequency identification ) technology . “ Automation in areas such as order picking has allowed retailers to operate with fewer staff at any one time , creating a safer and less-dense working environment ,” James said . “ The chemical sector has , overall , been much slower to adopt automation and we have seen some businesses struggle to retain their productivity on the warehouse floor . A report by market research business Deloitte found that 52 percent of chemical enterprises don ’ t have a digital strategy and transformation roadmap in place ; the pandemic could be a great jumping-off point for the chemical sector to embrace greater digital automation . “ Finally , we have to compare the overall mindset of the two sectors , because that ’ s just as important . As a legacy industry , the chemical sector is known to have traditionally been slower to adapt and change . However , volatile situations like the pandemic have shown that disruption and agility are crucial across all markets . The retail sector has been a great example of almost ‘ starting from zero ’, in that sales strategies , supply chains and even business models were redesigned in short order . The result has been that the expected volatility in sales could be addressed very early on . While the overall decline in consumer sales has impacted many businesses , this combination of foresight and flexibility has enabled some retailers to defend the bottom line . We ’ d like to see the chemical supply chain become more flexible with strategy , to ensure the continued success of the industry .”
www . schoellerallibert . com
Wet and dry mixing from NBE
new NBE processing system integrates
A dry bulk material discharging systems and bulk liquid handling systems to increase batch process line yield and reduce product quality loss . The ‘ fullstream processing project ’ is designed to ensure homogeneous slurry is accurately produced , and reliably supplied to downstream food processing operations . It complies with the hygienic requirements of the process environment and is built to stringent sanitary design and materials-of-construction specifications . Beginning upstream , major dry ingredients are introduced into the batch processing operation through controlled supply from the NBE bulk bag discharging system . The discharging system provides a dust-tight bag spout interconnect that encloses the bag spout and the material discharge path , protecting the operator and the surrounding work area from dust escape during material discharge . Material from the bulk bag is discharged directly into the NBE metering hopper . Based on the recipe of each slurry batch , and controlled by NBE process automation , the dry ingredient is metered from the hopper into the NBE wetting bowl where the major ingredient enters the project ’ s secondary liquid flow . Also , upstream , an NBE bag break station enables the operator to introduce minor dry ingredients directly into the wetting bowl and into the secondary liquid flow . Dust collectors , ducted to the bag break station and the bulk bag spout enclosure , draw material dust away from the operator and into the filtration system . A reverse air-pulse action from the dust collector removes material from the filter for later reintroduction into the process , reducing material loss and improving process yield .
At the midstream stage , the motive action of the secondary liquid flow into the NBE wetting bowl is sufficient to wet the major and minor dry ingredients and facilitate supply of these wetted ingredients into the Venturi eductor at the base of the wetting bowl . A separate , primary flow of the liquid ingredient , also received from upstream , is pumped through the educator which then mixes the wetted dry ingredients with the primary liquid ingredient to produce the slurry to its correct concentration and suspension of solids . The finished slurry is pumped downstream at a rate of 150 gallons per minute to a high-capacity mixing tank . NBE says the system enabled a global food processing company to move beyond the constraints of build-to-order and engineer-toorder processing operations . From pre-RFQ stages through project turnover , the project owner was able to advance its equipment project delivery while also reducing its capital equipment total cost of ownership .
www . nbe-inc . com
The ‘ fullstream processing project ’ is designed to ensure homogeneous slurry is accurately produced , and reliably supplied to downstream food processing