Modernization
Fully automated conveyor system replaces old transport conveyor line
Every year, Hans Henglein & Sohn processes around 57,000 tons of potatoes into batter, dumplings, noodles or potato pancake dough - the equivalent of around 2,500 soccer pitches. In order to be able to cope with such large and increasing quantities in the future, the company replaced its old transport line 1.5 years ago with a new and efficient conveyor system from HaRo, which has since fully automated and efficiently ensured the material flow between the production and refrigeration halls.
After the first pre-made dumpling dough was developed in 1985 and the first production plant was put into operation, the family business experienced steady growth: the production program was expanded almost every year, the current company site on the outskirts of Wassermungenau was opened together with two other locations in Saxony-Anhalt and North Rhine-Westphalia and new production lines for processing various potato products and chilled bakery doughs continuously drove the company's growth. Today, the still family-run company has 1,200 employees, a turnover of 210 million euros and an export share of 40 percent to 27 countries.
This is an order of magnitude that almost requires a reliable material flow, especially at the main site in Wassermungenau, where several thousand tons of potato products, pasta and puff pastry are produced on a production area of almost 180,000 square meters.
square meters produced annually. For this reason, the company turned to the Sauerland-based conveyor technology manufacturer HaRo Anlagen- und Fördertechnik in 2021. Henglein was already able to define its requirements for the new conveyor line in concrete terms: The old and now ageing conveyor system needed to be replaced with a new and, above all, automated line that would act as an interface between the production and refrigeration halls. The Rüthen-based HaRo Group ultimately convinced its customer with a holistic concept that met Henglein's specifications.
Transportation of unsecured goods on pallets
In the production hall, the pallets loaded with potato and dough products are first loaded manually and close to the floor onto the pallet lifting station using a lifting ant. This then transfers the goods to the adjacent powered roller conveyors. Head of Design at the HaRo Group, Markus Löseke, explains the special features: "As the goods on the pallets are initially still unsecured after transfer, transportation is frequency-controlled." This technology enables the goods to be conveyed gently and smoothly along the approximately 20-metre-long conveyor section to the wrapper, which wraps and secures the goods.
The wrapped pallets are then transported to the labeling system via the driven roller conveyors without frequency control. Once the labels have been applied, they are transported on to the adjacent cold store. "There is a height difference to overcome between the production hall and the cold store, so we advised our customer to use a vertical conveyor," explains Markus Löseke. The HaRo vertical conveyor is designed for fast and effortless distribution of pallets on different levels and reliably overcomes height differences between different floors. Before the pallets are also transferred to the vertical conveyor in a fully automated process, a turntable first allows the conveyed goods to change direction.
Once in the vertical conveyor, the goods are transported to the level of the cold store below. "When it comes to transporting goods between two halls, safety precautions have top priority," emphasizes Markus Löseke. For this reason, a fire protection door has been installed. In addition, two high-speed doors ensure that no draughts escape between the halls.
Occupational safety has priority
The protection of employees working on the system is also a top priority: all conveyor components, such as the rotating platform, are fully enclosed and prevent people from entering.
Once the vertical conveyor has transported the pallets to the lower level, they are transported to the removal station via the roller conveyors. At the same time, the roller conveyors also serve as a buffer section: if the removal is delayed, the pallets can be easily buffered on the roller conveyors on the lower level of the cold store.
80 pallets per hour are transported in this way in three-shift operation 6 days a week. And while the system described has already been in operation for a year without a hitch, Henglein is already planning to expand the conveyor line: in order to continue to meet the growing capacities, the construction of a further hall is being planned, which will then also be linked to the existing conveyor line. In doing so, Henglein is making use of an intelligent concept from the HaRo Group: thanks to the modular system of individual conveyor elements, the conveyor technology manufacturer's systems can be flexibly adapted and expanded at any time - without any lengthy production downtimes.
This article appeared in issue 7/23
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