IMA Schelling Board: Customised packaging systems for boards and board stacks
Creators of the legendary Reichstag Wrapped installation in Berlin, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, would have been impressed – even if the Business Unit Board could not quite stretch to covering the whole of the Reichstag!.
www.imaschelling.com
"We offer board manufacturers and processors a full range of packaging solutions", explains Stefan Hinterholzer, Head of the Business Unit Board at IMA Schelling. "Our range extends from simple, manual-assisted units through to fully automated packaging systems that run without operator intervention."
When designing their range, the experts at IMA Schelling looked in detail at the needs of modern board manufacturers and set about defining key requirements. "These days, customers need optimised and automated work flows and the flexibility to respond to delivery demand as and when", adds Hinterholzer referring to the two foremost requirements. "The other important thing is reducing stacker truck movements, primarily to avoid damage and accidents. We are able to support our customers with all these aspects, while also introducing improvements."
Automatic squared timber production and feeding
The wide range that IMA Schelling Board offers its customers includes squared timber machines that continuously process board strips. The machine glues the strips – mostly B goods – on top of one another, and puts a groove in the lower edge for the strapping plant. The squared timber is then cut to the predefined length. IMA Schelling uses equipment from third party suppliers for board stack strapping, depending on the customer's requirements, while protection boards and protective cardboard bases for strapping plants, as well as squared timber feeding, are handled entirely in house.
In addition to strapping machines, the packaging line includes other systems to meet the specific needs of customers, such as weather-proof packaging with plastic film – including stretch film wrapping machines, stretch hoods and shrink tunnel systems. IMA Schelling has a "double stacker" in its range to reduce stacker truck movements from the packaging plant to the HGVs. This also means that several board stacks can be placed on top of one another in the plant. Additionally, concepts for the fully automated loading of stacks in HGVs have already been developed.
However, one of the core competences of the Business Unit Board is the mechanical connection of individual modules using the hugely varied range of conveyor technology offered by IMA Schelling. The selection ranges from simple roller tracks through chain conveyors to linked chain tracks – and depends on the specific requirements of the product or the type of pallet or squared timber.
"At IMA Schelling, we combine a very large range with decades-long experience in interconnecting machines and production systems", continues Hinterholzer. "We're not just talking at the mechanical level: it's also about the integration of all product and process data. To this end, we provide our own master computer level and all the necessary interfaces to the customer's ERP system. So, the customer receives a full service package from us – combined with all the requisite safety devices stipulated for the country we are supplying to."
www.imaschelling.com
