A Western Australian company has expanded its output using automation and bags from HAVER & BOECKER.
In 2023, Quantum Filtration Medium, a manufacturer of DMI-65 filtration media, found its current facility and processes could no longer support its rapid growth.
Having expanded into more than 100 countries around the world, its manual packing process needed a major overhaul to keep up with its growing business.
After doing some research, the Quantum team decided the best solution for current needs and future expansion was a fully automated packing and palletising solution.
Best in class
DMI-65 is a water filtration product made from crystalline quartz sand, chemically infused with manganese dioxide. Groundwater travels through filters with DMI-65 filtration media to pull out heavy metals like iron, manganese and arsenic.
DMI-65 filtration media requires six to nine times fewer chemicals than the traditional process, which uses regular sand and chemical treatments to purify water. This unique property of the DMI-65 material has led to increased demand and a need for higher production – 10 times more than the production capacity of the original facility.
The only way to meet this heightened requirement was to switch from a mostly manual process to a fully automated approach.
After reaching production capacity at its original plant, Quantum’s team began planning a move to a new factory in Collie, Western Australia, where it could replace its manual processes with automated, sustainable packing methods.
The manual process of loading bags onto the packing machine, hand-stamping production dates, and manually palletising the bags required excessive time and labour.
Its research showed investing in and setting up automated technology requires extensive preparation, expertise and support. So, it started simple: find a manufacturer with a local service centre. This narrowed down the pool of manufacturers, and the team ultimately decided on HAVER & BOECKER.
The manufacturer’s service centre was located less than two hours away, in Perth. After looking into the company, it found it provided both industry knowledge and packing equipment.
“Our goal with the new factory was to jump forward, technologically, 50 years into the future,” Quantum general manager James Glaskin said.
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“We went into our research with only a base understanding of the automated packing industry, so we needed a manufacturer with the knowledge to back up their equipment and the ability to adapt to our unique product composition. HAVER & BOECKER’s team kept consistent communication with us for more than two years to make sure they could meet our needs and that we were happy with the results.”
When HAVER & BOECKER heard the needs of its facility and the plans to update its processes, it recommended the Integra 1L packing machine, a fully enclosed, automated unit with integrated SEAL Technology and a Newtec Terram 300 G Bag Palletiser.
Sustainable solutions
The HAVER & BOECKER team introduced Quantum to the Integra 1L as a solution to its packing needs.
The fully automated packing line increased their production output by more than 10 times.
The machine features an automatic filling spout, weight scale and discard chute alongside the ability to print batch codes on the packaging.
Bags are transported into the machine, filled, ultrasonically sealed and transported out before being conveyed to the Terram 300 G Bag Palletiser, where its positioned strategically on the pallet for maximum efficiency.
Quantum’s team agreed the packing machine and palletiser made sense, but then it came across another challenge. What bag should be used?
“We found that a lot of bag manufacturers wanted us to go with the type of bag they were most comfortable producing instead of the best bag for our product,” Glaskin said.
“In many cases, the bags changed hands half a dozen times before coming to our facility, creating rips, tears and unusable batches. After contacting three different bag manufacturers, we spoke with HAVER & BOECKER’s team about the problem.”
Through its Bespoke program, HAVER & BOECKER helps research and provide custom bagging solutions to customers.
Bespoke typically starts with a bag optimisation plan (BOP) or testing completed at the HAVER & BOECKER Institute.
The BOP includes a bag volume test, bag valve check, visual pallet check, and a bag specification check to see how the current bags are performing and what type of bag is best suited to the material being packed.
HAVER & BOECKER experts help customers identify the ideal bag for their product, packing line, and brand.
In this case, the manufacturer helped Quantum find the best valve bags compatible with both the DMI-65 filtration media and the packing machine. The bags not only look good, but they are 100 per cent sealed with ultrasonic sealing technology, meaning they ’re safeguarded against contaminants while also protecting the environment from spills of the corrosive material.
A long-term partnership
Quantum invested in the full array of suggested materials, including the Integra 1L packing machine, the Newtec Terram 300 G Bag Palletiser and custom valve bags provided through Bespoke by HAVER & BOECKER.
The company found working with HAVER & BOECKER just makes sense.
“HAVER & BOECKER offers fully customisable maintenance contracts. We’re currently in talks to plan out a maintenance and parts ordering schedule that works with our equipment,” Glaskin said.
“Because our product is so niche, they want to continually monitor the packing unit for a few months to see what wear parts are needed and how they can best support our process. Their help has been invaluable, and we look forward to this continued partnership.”