CASE STUDY
BUILDING ON A SOLID FOUNDATION
L
ook up, look right, look left. What do you see? If you’re inside
it will be a wall or ceiling made of plasterboard – It surrounds us
yet is overlooked, however it is what provides us with shelter and the
comfort we have become accustomed to.
Winstone Wallboards is New Zealand’s only manufacturer and largest
marketer of gypsum plasterboard, drywall systems and associated
products and services for the residential and commercial construction
markets.
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“Winstone Wallboards, much like NHP takes pride in delivering local
products and expertise custom made for local conditions. By combining
our extensive knowledge attained over 90 years of operations, we
deliver enhanced results for our clients and strive to provide the safest
working environment for our employees,” said Shaun Sanders, Winstone
Wallboard’s Manufacturing Safety Engineer.
Until the mid-1920s, most of New Zealand’s plasterboard came from
North America. In 1927, Winstone Wallboards helped pioneer the local
industry, with demand soon outstripping the capacity of its modest
factory in Auckland. Installed in 2002, the Joint and Finishing Compounds (J&F) Area
at the Auckland facility was the focus of the upgrade. Being the
only production facility of its type in New Zealand, it handles large
quantities of materials and packaged products in three separate
production areas; dry mix, wet mix and the final merger of these
materials.
Today, Winstone Wallboards has factories in Auckland and
Christchurch, and distribution centres in Auckland, Wellington and
Christchurch. The robot palletising system in the J&F area was no longer meeting
demand, and two new products were being manually palletised due
to the robot gripper system limitations.
At the end of 2017, Winstone Wallboards undertook a comprehensive
review at its Auckland Plaster Mill. After over a year of planning and
projection justifications, combined with six months of design and
development, the decision was made to upgrade the site, with safety,
reliability and production efficiency front of mind. An upgrade was required to deliver a robot system that would address
these limitations, increase overall productivity, reduce unplanned
downtime and enhance safety for onsite personnel.
To ensure minimal manufacturing disruptions and subsequent loss
of revenue, the project was installed and commissioned over 21 days
during the 2017 Christmas period.