Visitors to COBA Plastics’ UK manufacturing plant may have noticed the new bulk storage silos that were installed last year. The company has invested £150,000 in the silos to store the most commonly used polymers – polypropylene and uPVC.
The raw material stored in the silos is conveyed to each of the extrusion lines in the main extrusion manufacturing area using a centralized material handling system. The implementation of this system is beneficial to COBA in terms of operational efficiency as previously the vast quantities of polymers were manually handled in 25kg bags or 1000kg octobins.
Furthermore, the system reduces the risk of material spillage and any subsequent contamination as well as providing a reduction in energy consumption. Additional space inside the manufacturing and stores areas has also been created.
“The system has dramatically improved our efficiencies,” explains Jonathan Atkinson, Operations Director. “It is controlled by a ‘one wire’ system supplied by Summit Systems which gives the manufacturing team real time data on the system’s operating status via a visual display panel situated in the factory. The system has been designed with COBA’s commitment to lean manufacturing principles firmly in mind and we are already reaping the benefits.”
Telephone: +44 (0)116 240 1555
Email: sales@cobaautomotive.co.uk
