CHEP Invests More Than £2 Million in State of the Art Automation at South Ockendon Service Center in the UK
CHEP UK & Ireland, the supply chain solutions company, has opened a new state-of-the-art pallet repair and service center facility in South Ockendon, near Thurrock, in Essex, United Kingdom. The new facility stands on the existing CHEP site and delivers increased availability for the growing pallet demand from customers in the South-East.
CHEP has invested more than £2 million in equipping the facility with some of the most advanced automatic fault-detection and repair equipment available. In response to the rapidly evolving needs of its extensive customer base, the new automation equipment will deliver significant efficiency and productivity improvements. This investment in automation will enable a higher level of consistency in pallet quality with the added benefit of improved levels of platform consistency and appearance for all customers.
Increased automation will deliver greater levels of productivity and platform consistency
“The key areas where the automation will deliver these productivity and efficiency improvements are inspection, repair and paint stenciling,” said CHEP UK & Ireland, Vice-President and Country General Manager, Helen Lane. “Customers will benefit from improved levels of platform consistency delivered by this increased automation and reduced manual intervention required in the conventional inspect and repair process. Additionally, the South Ockendon site is in the ideal location to effectively manage the large number of satellite pallet processing operations installed for customers on their sites in the South of England.”
The newly-installed automated equipment includes:
1. The latest laser system that checks individual pallets for damage, and works in conjunction with an automatic cutter to identify and remove any broken elements.
2. A robotic arm lifts the pallet and based on information provided by the Automatic Digital Inspection system (ADI), cuts and removes the element to be replaced then returns the pallet to the repair bench where the operator complete the operation.
3. The latest roller nailer technology guarantees no nails protrude more than 3mm above the top board of any pallets.
The moisture content of pallets can also be monitored thanks to technology which probes the top deck of pallets. If the moisture content exceeds a certain level, the pallet will be removed from production.
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