Conveyor Automation Upgrade for Beer and Wine Distribution in Charleston South Carolina

Challenge: Labor strain, damaged product, failing conveyors.

Conveyor and Material Handling Specialist Brian Hester received a call a few months back from a beer and wine distribution company owner in Charleston South Carolina that he needed some help with his material handling project.

After a visit and discussion with the customer it was clear that his gravity roller conveyor and gravity expandable conveyors that feed his truck dock were not working. Too much labor and product damage pushing boxes around all night long, were his words.

Solution: Zero-Pressure Accumulation Conveyors with Powered Flexible Dock Lines

After some discussions and some sample videos to show our client’s team our capabilities, we decided to use Hytrol’s E24EZ zero pressure accumulation conveyor within the building and a powered flexible conveyor from his building out to the 5 truck docks.

The solution provided the customer with reduced product damage from pushing the product off the gravity conveyors and reduced labor by 1-2 people per shift, overall resulting in a less than 6-8 month return on his investment. Another great asset to the customer was there was no PLC or external controls required and only (2) 115VAC connections required for operation.

Result: Fast ROI, Reduced Labor, and Seamless Truck Loading

By using Hytrol’s E24EZ zero pressure accumulation case conveyors the operators were able to load the conveyor and the cases were now powered down to the truck dock door without any back pressure using 18″ long zones.

Once the customer was ready to start loading the trucks the operators could connect the powered flexible conveyor to the end of the E24 conveyor and once plugged together product was automatically released onto the truck loading conveyors.

A great turn key project for AEC that required only 1 day to setup and installation and the customer could start realizing a return on his investment.