News Industry In brief...
Flexi Narrow Aisle has supplied Flexi articulated forklift truck technology to NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Flexi very narrow aisle lift trucks will be used to support NATO’s ongoing efforts in Kosovo. The forklift trucks will be put to work at NATO’s facility in Pristina, where they will be used to improve space utilisation and efficiency in the stores that handle the broad range of equipment and kit required to sustain the men and women of the Kosovo Security Force.
www.flexi.co.uk
The UK Industrial Vision Association (UKIVA) has announced its intention to produce statistics on the sale of vision components and systems in the UK. A quarterly survey will be carried out with UKIVA members to collect and collate data on the number of units sold in the following categories - smart cameras/sensors, code readers, compact vision systems, PC-based vision systems, machine vision cameras, 3D systems and systems deployed to end users. UKIVA chairman, Mark Williamson,
said, “Although a number of surveys are conducted periodically about the state of the machine vision market in different regions, there is no reliable data that relates to the UK vision market alone. In order to address this situation, and to offer UKIVA members yet another benefit of membership, UKIVA is planning to address this omission.”
www.ukiva.org
Emerson has signed an agreement to purchase Virgo Valves and Controls, a manufacturer of ball valves and automation systems based in Pune, India.
A privately held company, Virgo serves diverse markets worldwide, including the oil and gas, power and mining industries. In addition to ball valves, Virgo also manufactures high performance butterfly valves and severe service valves for critical applications. Virgo will operate within Emerson Process Management’s final controls business, serving customers in the energy and process related industries. Steve Sonnenberg, Emerson’s executive vice president, commented, “Virgo’s leadership in the engineered, on-off valve market is a great strategic fit within our business and strongly complements our Fisher control valve business.”
www.EmersonProcess.com
8 Size really does matter
MÜLLER DAIRY HAS recently increased the level of automation in its repack area following the installation of a Linkx A3 tray erector.
In the repack area where the new carton erector is installed, Müller Dairy receives products - including its famous Müller Corner ranges - in single flavour cases and repacks them into the mixed flavour cases that are favoured by many smaller retail outlets. Space in the re-pack area is at a premium, so a small footprint was an important requirement for the carton erector. The Linkx A3 tray erector, which can handle almost any type of board tray blank up to A3 size, was well suited for this application as it is not only unusu- ally compact, it also features a touchscreen interface for size changes. Convenient and fast to use, this intu- itive interface also virtually eliminates the risk of operator errors. Müller’s Bryan Jones commented, “The Linkx A3
tray erector has been a welcome addition to our facil- ity. Flexible, easy to maintain and operate along with a compact footprint, made the Linkx A3 tray erector the ideal option. Over the past year the unit has proven to be a cost effective and reliable addition.”
www.linkxpackaging.com
A pick and mix production line for chocolate manufacturer
THE INSTALLATION OF six fully automatic packing lines has improved efficiency and through- put for a global manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate products. The machines were provided by Endoline Machinery and the blue chip company is now achieving an annual output of 40,000 tonnes of chocolate. Endoline installed its equip- ment into the chocolate manufac-
turer’s existing lines to work as a fully turnkey operation. The man- ufacturer specifically required a system which could handle the vast quantity and quality variation of cases supplied by their many customers. To meet this need Endoline incorporated their case erectors featuring a dual opposing vacuum system which ensures the positive opening of each case, overcoming issues relating to tear- ing and ultimately wastage. Endoline integrated a Pattyn bag inserter to line the open case secur- ing the chocolate within. During this process the chocolate is trans- ported from the moulding line through metal detectors and onto a loading scale where the open and lined case is programmed to wait below before being filled by the
target amount of chocolate from the loading scale above.
While the footprint of all the cases remains the same, the height differs according to weight. However, to minimise down-time during size changeover, Endoline recommended its case sealers which only required a slight adjust- ment before securing both the top and bottom of the case with tape. Due to space restraints, Endoline constructed an elevator system at the end of the lines to lift the filled and sealed case up to a powered roller conveyor which transported all of the complete boxes from each of the lines to a robotic palletiser. Each line now consistently achieves an output of over 20,000 cases per week.
www.endoline.co.uk
Strengthening product services in Turkey MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC HAS announced that its
sales subsidiary, Mitsubishi Electric Turkey A.Ş, will establish a new factory automation (FA) centre at its location in the Ümraniye district of Istanbul to pro- vide enhanced services to locally operating manufac- turers, especially Japanese automotive and component manufacturers. The Turkey FA Center is expected to support the ongoing expansion of Mitsubishi Electric’s FA busi- ness in Turkey, where the company expects sales to reach 3bn Yen by the fiscal year ending in March 2016. Services, open to all but tailored particularly to Japanese manufacturers, will include timely technical consultation, repairs, training and support for FA products. System proposals and engineering educa- tion will also be provided. With the third largest population in Europe and a rapidly growing GDP, Turkey’s economy is expected to see robust growth, particularly in the automotive and
food industries, and the FA market is forecast to expand ten percent yearly. Major Japanese manufac- turers will be increasing their activities, raising demand for FA products and related service support. Mitsubishi Electric started its FA business in Turkey in June 2013 with five locations and 42 employees. FA product support has been provided up to now through local distributors and the Europe FA Center in Poland. The establishment of this new domestic centre is expected to realise significantly faster and stronger FA product services throughout the country.
www.mitsubishielectric.com
OCTOBER 2013 Automation
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