Background
Green Bay Packaging is a pulp and paper manufacturer using 100% recycled materials to produce a wide variety paperboard packaging. The large rolls are slit and sized based on customer demand, and moved to a work cell in stacks where they are loaded onto skids for final shipping. The size of the rolls vary significantly, but can be as large as 3’ x 5’, and weigh as much as 600 pounds.
The Problem
The primary problem facing the company in this application was operator injury, especially back strains. Back injuries were the leading cause of lost time injury for the company, and at one point were occurring as frequently as once per week. While most rolls are far too big for a single operator to lift, some smaller rolls may only weigh 60 pounds, which are tempting for an operator to move manually in a time saving effort.
The Solution
“The two options being considered were an up-ender and a crane with a manipulator,” said John Frederick of Green Bay Packaging. “The problem with the up-ender was that we couldn’t handle the rolls the way we wanted to when loading the skids. The manipulator became important for stacking multiple rolls.”
With the manipulator selected for tooling, Green Bay Packaging selected a 4,000 pound capacity Gorbel work station crane, featuring dual girder bridges to support the manipulator. The crane also features tractor drives to make movement along the runways even easier for operators.