Stable brew

Citation

(2000), "Stable brew", Work Study, Vol. 49 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2000.07949gab.001

Stable brew

Stable brew

Fuller's Brewery has installed the LOCK n' POP pallet stabilisation system from Limpet Tapes Limited to ensure pallet stability across the comprehensive range of bottled beers produced at its world famous Chiswick brewery. LOCK n' POP has been installed on both the case and tray packaging lines prior to the palletising and wrapping operations. The LOCK n' POP system offers a range of products for different types of packaging and is therefore suitable for use on both the highly decorative corrugated cases and the shrinkwrapped trays used at Fuller's. On the tray line, bottles are packed six per tray. As the packs are conveyed from the shrink tunnel to the palletiser they pass under the LOCK n' POP automatic applicator which applies six lines of the liquid cohesive using polythene needle tips. The flexible tips accommodate the undulating nature of the pack to ensure a continuous line of application. For cases packed 24 bottles per case, LOCK n' POP is applied after the sealing operation by means of the recently launched compact unitiser applicator. At Fuller's it is mounted on an adjustable arm but its flexible design also allows it to be mounted on virtually any case taper. Four lines of LOCK n' POP are applied to the top of the highly decorative cases which then continue on for automatic palletising. Bonding occurs on contact as the products are stacked at the palletiser, yet LOCK n' POP has an average "open time" of 20 minutes after application. It prevents lateral movement of any kind, giving Fuller's pallets greater stability than with stretchwrap alone as previously used. Additionally Fuller's have reduced the use of stretchwrap on each pallet by over 25 per cent.