THE PERFECT SET-UP FOR CHANGE
MANUFACTURING RÖFIX AG’ S PORTFOLIO
BEUMER GROUP
THE PERFECT SET-UP FOR CHANGE
Röfix AG’ s portfolio comprises around 200 different building materials, e. g. masonry mortar, renderings, paints, coatings and unbonded screeds. To make sure that the correct quantity of these materials gets to the customer safely and on time, the manufacturer places a special emphasis on filling, palletising and packaging technology. BEUMER Group provided an entire system to the site in Sennwald, Switzerland and integrated it into an existing building. The system can be flexibly adapted to the different materials, no retrofitting required. The individual system components are easy to maintain and operate reliably. This ensures high levels of availability and prevents downtimes.
A mountain range, characterised by the summits of the Chrüzberg, Stauberen and Hoher Kasten, dominates the panorama of the extensive Rhine plains. Here in Sennwald in the canton of St. Gallen, nature enthusiasts, hikers and bikers enjoy the forests, meadows and winding paths. The Austrian building materials manufacturer Röfix, member of the Fixit Gruppe, has one of its five Swiss locations in this picturesque town with its approximately 5,000 inhabitants.“ We are manufacturing our entire product range here,” describes Josef Sennhauser, CEO of Röfix, Switzerland.“ Among the some 200 different building materials are fine plaster, different types of concrete, masonry mortar, screed and adhesives,” adds plant manager Gerhardt Welte.“ Each of these products has very different flow properties.”
This can be a challenge. In order to remain competitive, not only the quality of the building materials is important, but“ Manufacturers must also be reliable in getting their products to the customer on time,” Sennhauser emphasises.“ One of the most decisive factors for customer satisfaction is staying on schedule.” To achieve this, the Suisse subsidiary needed an adaptable packaging line that could quickly bag, palletise and then package the finished stack with a stretch hood. In the past it had repeatedly incurred downtime on individual machines and workers had to do extensive retrofitting on the line when products changed, which caused delays.
Decision for the right partner
Röfix’ experience has already been positive with solutions of BEUMER Group at some
168 PECM Issue 34 of their other plants. This is why those responsible turned towards BEUMER Group as a one-stop shop for filling, palletising and packaging technologies.“ Not only do our customers look for reliability, we expect the same from our suppliers,” says Welte. The key requirements for the packaging line, besides adaptability, were mainly economical operation, easy maintenance and extensive customer support. Both companies quickly agreed on the scope and schedule and the project was ready to begin.
Filling process: not too much, not too little
Due to the wide range of manufactured building materials, BEUMER Group installed a BEUMER fillpac R filling machine that operates according to the air filling principle. The bags are weighed during the filling process. The BEUMER fillpac is equipped with an electronic calibration-capable weighing unit. It ensures that the bags are always filled with the same amount of material. A special software enables filling spouts and scale to constantly compare weights. By using ultrasound to seal the bags, a very clean and efficient technology, the system can ensure optimal results. It also avoids the accumulation of material around the valve.
Due to its modular design, the system can be easily integrated into existing lines. The added BEUMER bag placer and ream magazine make the filling system even more efficient. Servomotors automatically, precisely and energy-efficiently drive the application unit and the suction gripper. The gripping and placing system takes the bags from the stack and applies them safely on the filling spout. 1,200 bags per hour can be applied like this with high precision. 1,800 bags are possible by adding an extension.“ The BEUMER bag placer can be easily adjusted to other bag formats by the user. This increases the system’ s flexibility,” explains Denis Sielemann, Senior Sales Manager, Building Materials, at BEUMER Group.
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