CASE STUDY

CRISTALIA PREMIUM WATER

Automated Palletizing Gives Cristalia a Clear Advantage

The Caribbeans leading bottled water company receives six-month ROI with entry-level Alvey GS100 series palletizer from Intelligrated

A Fully Automated Solution

In Cristalias new system, an existing line shaft roller conveyor brings cases from the one-gallon-jug production line to the infeed of the Alvey GS140. The palletizer forms 16case layers, with each case containing three one-gallon jugs. The Alvey GS140 then builds the load on the chain conveyor, with either three or four layers depending on the customer specifications. When the load is complete, it is automatically discharged from the loadbuild cavity and an empty pallet is conveyed into position. The Alvey GS140 completely automates the line with a 10-pallet capacity lift-andseparate pallet dispenser, using 40- by 48-inch wooden pallets. Empty pallets are loaded by fork truck into the empty pallet dispenser, which automatically feeds another pallet to the prestage position for the next load.

Please note: Intelligrated acquired Alvey palletizing products through its purchase of the North and South American operations of FKI Logistex in June 2009

Puerto Rico-based Cristalia Premium Water thrives on the booming Caribbean tourist trade and the regions need for clean, safe water. A popular namesake brand and successful private-label bottling division have helped boost the companys revenue, which is up 400 percent since 1999. Recently, high labor costs and inefficiencies in packaging operations were making it increasingly difficult to meet demand while maintaining profits. The company commissioned the director of manufacturing operations, Tom Terrell, to evaluate automated palletizing solutions to help manage the rapid growth.

Automation is the Answer

Cristalias Ponce, Puerto Rico bottling plant manually palletizes four lines of bottled water shrink-wrapped trays of 16-ounce bottles, multi-packs, fivegallon cooler bottles and one-gallon jugs. However, Terrell and his team knew that the 20,000-square-foot facility only had the space to automate one line. The one-gallon-jug line was the most difficult to palletize manually, with its unstable, 27-pound cases forcing employees to take frequent breaks. Four employees worked in an hourly rotation on this line, while the 16-ounce-bottle and multi-pack lines only required one worker each. Terrell also noted that the one-gallon jugs were the plants highest producer filling a pallet every two and a half minutes. The team calculated that automating this line would give them the greatest benefits in terms of labor savings and increased efficiency.

www.intelligrated.com

Intelligrated Provides a Solution

A Six-Month ROI
Intelligrateds Alvey GS140 system has enabled Cristalia to reduce labor costs and heavy lifting, while producing an extra 1,000 cases every shift, for a capital investment of less than $100,000. The Alvey GS140 palletizer also fits completely inside a standard 40-foot shipping container, which saved the company approximately $14,000 on overseas shipping costs alone. With the new Alvey palletizing system we reduced labor costs by 25 percent and increased our total volume by 20 percent, said Terrell. The most important gain came from continuous uptime and uninterrupted shiftsnow the line never stops. According to Terrell, Cristalia experienced a sixmonth ROI with the new palletizer. For the same overhead costs, were getting more cases out the door, he said. The companys president and CEO David Virginia could not be happier with the service and support provided by Intelligrated. They really stepped up and ensured that we met our goal of 97-percent uptime on the machine following startup, he said. To us, this was the difference between Intelligrated being an equipment manufacturer and a business partner. With the new palletizing system, the local bottler is well on its way to meeting its goal of becoming a $100 million bottled water marketer to the Caribbean and the U.S. in the next 10 years.

Cristalias cramped warehouse did not have the space for the accumulation conveyor required for a standard high-speed palletizer. The company turned to automated material handling solutions provider Intelligrated (formerly FKI Logistex) and its Alvey GS100 series case palletizer for an affordable way to automate its line within the space constraints of the warehouse. The compact footprint of the Alvey GS100 series eliminates the need for a long infeed conveyor and allows fork truck access to all points of the facility, including incoming materials, warehousing, production discharge and outgoing product without intruding on personnel. Working with Intelligrated and Puerto Rico-based packaging equipment representative Inter-Strap Packaging, Cristalia chose the Alvey GS140 model, which features a pallet dispenser and a full-pallet handling discharge for complete automation. The Alvey GS140 gives Cristalia the ability to palletize at rates of up to 30 cartons per minute and includes a touch-screen operator-interface terminal (OIT) pattern utility.

Conveyor brings cases from the one-gallonjug production line to the infeed of the Alvey GS140 palletizer.

www.intelligrated.com

About Intelligrated
Intelligrated is a leading American-owned supplier of automated material handling solutions with operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Headquartered in Mason, Ohio, a northern suburb of Cincinnati, Intelligrated is a manufacturer and solutions provider of high-speed sortation, conveyor and material handling software and controlsall supported by 24x7 Customer Service. The acquisition in 2009 of automated material handling supplier FKI Logistex (www.fkilogistex.com) expands the Intelligrated product line to include Alvey palletizers, Real Time Solutions order fulfillment systems, and Crisplant tilt-tray and cross-belt sorters. Intelligrated provides world-class material handling solutions for the warehousing, distribution, consumer product manufacturing, airport, post and parcel markets.

Intelligrated Support
The in-house Customer Service and Support (CSS) program offered by Intelligrated backs all of our products. Services available include: Individual repairs System audits Scheduled maintenance On-site operator training Spare parts Modifications CSS is available 24/7 to provide all of the services needed to keep your equipment running at peak efficiency. Whether its on-site support or troubleshooting via our hotline, Intelligrated has the most comprehensive customer support program in the industry. Service and Parts Hotline Phone + 1 877.315.3400 www.ontimeparts.com

Intelligrated Products and Services

Systems Integration Sortation Systems Conveyor Systems Palletizing Solutions Software & Controls Order Fulfillment Systems 24x7 Technical Support Design & Build
Headquarters in Mason, Ohio

For more information, contact:

7901 Innovation Way, Mason, Ohio 45040 + 1 866.936.7300 info@intelligrated.com www.intelligrated.com

CSCPW01 9.09 2009 Intelligrated. All rights reserved. Alvey is a Registered trademark of Intelligrated Inc.