Bulk Distributor May/June 2021 | Page 12

12 BULKDISTRIBUTOR Industrial Packaging May / June 2021

12 BULKDISTRIBUTOR Industrial Packaging May / June 2021

Keeping track

Businesses using pallets , cages , trolleys , stillages and other forms of returnable industrial packaging for customer deliveries or internal transport are often faced with significant , regular expenditure to replace items lost during the course of business . The typical level of returnable industrial packages lost annually to the industry is on average 10 percent and the cost of an individual piece of equipment can range up to several thousand pounds . The loss of one or two cages , stillages or trollies is easily written off . However , losing one or two assets a week , from multiple depots or sites quickly amounts to a significant operational cost often of tens of thousands of pounds each year in replacements . In most cases these missing assets are rarely lost and often attributable to an absence of an effective asset management tracking system . Through its internet-of-things , tracking solutions and asset management expertise , TracLogik has developed a low-cost , multi-technology solution to track and manage reusable packaging and transport assets such as distribution cages . The solution is designed to reduce asset loss and improve operational efficiencies . Working in partnership with several logistics businesses , TracLogik has developed a suite of flexible solutions that can be tailored to overcome these challenges . Businesses have generally been tackling these challenges with a combination of manual , labour intensive systems . Keeping track of thousands of assets with poorly developed , disparate systems that are rarely updated with data from manual counts means that the data is always out-of-date – typically the assets have already moved in the time between counting the asset and entering the information into the system . While a manual system may identify a significant operational cost these processes are rarely able to identify the reasons for the asset loss .

Cost-benefit
Operators within these sectors are of course acutely aware of the scale of the problem and the ongoing costs associated with the continued loss of these assets . Frustratingly , up until now , tracking solutions have primarily relied on deploying GPS based devices that have not offered a financially attractive proposition . Further operational issues with battery life and the inability of a GPS based tracking device to help locate packaging assets while within a depot , warehouse or other indoor facility have meant that GPS by itself is not a viable solution . Other systems such as RFID or barcoding often rely on manual intervention , which can be subject to human error and process fatigue , especially when third parties are asked to contribute to the tracking procedure . They also often lack the ability to acquire location data once the asset is in transit .
Bluetooth Low Energy
The good news is that in addition to GPS tracking , there are other technologies used in the asset tracking sphere ; namely WiFi , Bluetooth Low Energy ( BLE ) and Sigfox GPS . In a defined area , like a campus , manufacturing facility or hospital complex , these technologies are highly effective . Tracking tags , attached to each tracked asset combine with an overlay network of receivers can give real-time location information and , where required , telemetry data . TracLogik ’ s low cost Sigfox GPS solution enables the tracking of assets outside the closed environment of a depot , warehouse or distribution facility where historically tracking devices could not communicate without the expense of cellular network connectivity extremely limiting battery life . TracLogik combines GPS and BLE into a highly effective and versatile industrial packaging tracking solution to harness the strengths of both technologies . By deploying TracLogik ’ s integrated GPS – Bluetooth receivers in vehicles , the system can provide a live position for assets tracked by Bluetooth , almost anywhere in the world . This gives full visibility of transport assets through the
TracLogik ’ s Sigfox GPS solution enables the tracking of assets outside the closed environment of a depot , warehouse or distribution facility
production facility , to the distribution centre , onto vehicles and at delivered locations . The TracLogik System enables users to visualise the delivery of assets to partner facilities in realtime . If required , the system can be extended quickly and cost effectively to provide coverage at the partner facility using Bluetooth with optional 3G / 4G cellular communication should other connectivity for the devices be unavailable . The TracLogik solution effectively combines a broad spectrum of tracking technologies , including GPS , WiFi , BLE , RFID and low power wide area networks such as Sigfox and Lora . The ideal solution for a client may incorporate several different technologies , however TracLogik ’ s cloud-based software hides this complexity behind a concise intuitive user interface . Users are presented with a list of assets and a list of locations . The software is then tailored to enable users to answer the questions that are important such as : Which assets are present at which location ? Which assets were scheduled to arrive at a location but have not ? How many assets are going to be present in this location at 2pm ? The result is that the packaging asset tracking system , which was installed based on a business case that predicted a payback period based around the reduction in the loss of assets , is now also a valuable business tool for transport managers planning their next deliveries showing available capacity , throughput and being a source of assetoptimisation and rotation time reduction .
www . traclogik . co . uk

Mauser expands in Italy

Mauser Packaging Solutions is expanding in Italy having bought Global Tank Srl via its NCG-Maider joint venture . Founded in 2008 Global Tank is a family owned business that has been active in the reconditioning of industrial packaging for more than 12 years and is located in Magnago , close to Milan . Michael Steubing , president of Mauser ’ s international packaging , commented : “ This acquisition expands on our footprint in Italy and will allow us to serve better our customer base for collections and supply of reconditioned packaging . The unification of both company ’ s strengths and synergies will prove to be a great benefit for our partners and customers .” Now with three reconditioning locations , Villastellone ( close to Turin ), Mira ( close to Venice ) and Magnago , all three sites are equipped with state of the art wash lines for reconditioning IBC , HDPE and steel drums , as well as the recycling of HDPE plastics . The production of new IBC and plastic packaging including Infinity drums and IBCs will continue from sites in Grezzago and Fonzaso . Reconditioning operations will carry on under the leadership of managing director reconditioning Federico Corsinotti and Laura Lorenzi regional operations manager South Europe . Alfonso Albanese and Carmela Cecere , former owners of Global Tank , will join Mauser ’ s management team . José Da Fonseca will lead the joined sales team in Italy for new and reconditioned packaging . “ We are confident that the strengths of both companies are a great benefit for both partners and our customers . This unification will maximise our advantage in the market as we share best practices and know how . We are very proud to expand our presence in the Italian market and for even better servicing of our customers ,” said Alfonso Albanese , former owners of Global Tank .

www . mauserpackaging . com

Handling TiO2

Spiroflow regularly provides solutions for handling TiO2

Spiroflow is taking steps to advise its customers on its range of conveying solutions that are suited to the safe handling and containment of titanium dioxide ( TiO2 ) powder . The move comes as a result of legislative changes made by the European Commission in February 2020 , in classifying titanium dioxide as a suspected carcinogen ( cat 2 ) by inhalation . The regulation becomes official on 1 October 2021 , meaning that businesses handling TiO2 will need to upgrade the containment of their processes so that operators are protected . Even products containing as little as 1 percent TiO2 will need to be included . TiO2 is an inert inorganic compound that is used as a white pigment in many industrial applications . These applications include the manufacture of paints , coatings , printing inks and wall coverings where TiO2 plays a critical role in providing essential product properties : whiteness , covering power , brightness , stability and durability of colour that cannot be achieved with other raw materials . TiO2 is also used in many other consumer products such as foods , pharmaceuticals and cosmetics . Handling TiO2 in a production environment can be problematic , particularly in conveying , where due to its cohesive properties , equipment such as screw conveyors can stall and ultimately fail . Dust
and containment is also a major consideration . Spiroflow regularly provides solutions for handling TiO2 through either its flexible screw or aeromechanical conveyors . A flexible screw conveyor , having only one moving part – the spiral – makes it ideal for conveying TiO2 . The pro-screw in the tube will move round in a spiral formation , the flatleading edge and closer gap tolerance between the tube and the screw both assisting in reducing the product residue and smearing in the conveying tube , thereby limiting halts in production . Spiroflow ’ s aero-mechanical conveyor creates an airstream which moves the product up the tubes along with high-speed discs and a rope . TiO2 is conveyed in the air stream created by the rope and discs in the tube where the product is handled gently . This conveyor is a great choice for conveying TiO2 because any dust created during conveying will be all contained within the conveyor itself . This conveyor is contained , runs quietly and with minimal energy , which also makes it a superior choice for conveying larger volumes of TiO2 . “ As material handling specialists , we have always understood the need to test materials and to offer a proven solution to the customer ,” said Jeannette Carter , a regional sales manager at Spiroflow with a NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety .
“ With many years of experience , we ’ ve trialled and developed products to ensure the smooth running of difficult cohesive materials such as titanium dioxide , resulting in us developing our flexible screw conveyor , which prevents the smearing and potential build-up of material in the conveying tube . Typically , we ’ d still select the aero-mechanical conveyor when
presented with applications , but use the proscrew in a steel tube as a metering device to offer a guaranteed solution . Containment in delivery , either from a bulk bag or sack tip , is a major consideration and one we handle on a daily basis .”
www . spiroflow . com