PKR-23-10-0008 Case Study PepsiCo Pallet Stabilization EN web.pdf

Slip-free c art on s t acking F uture-proof and sus t ainable solution for tr ansporting s t acked c artons Case S tudy: PepsiCo , Netherlands

Slip-free carton stacking

Future-proof and sustainable solution for

transporting stacked cartons

Case Study: PepsiCo, Netherlands

The food company PepsiCo produces potato chips in Broek

op Langedijk. For transportation, the company needed a

new system that would reliably prevent cartons stacked on

pallets from slipping. The company chose Nordson hot melt

technology, which has drastically reduced adhesive costs and

the number of customer complaints.

The Challenge

Potato chips have been produced in Broek op Langedijk in the

Netherlands since 1958. The initiative to process potatoes into

potato chips came from the farmers in Langedijk, who wanted to

find another market for their potatoes. Their courage paid o as the

plant grew over the years to become one of the largest potato chip

factory in Europe. Today, the plant belongs to the food and beverage

company PepsiCo, which has around 300 employees in Broek op

Langedijk. The factory produces, among other things, Lays‘ brand

potato chips, fills them into bags, packs them in cartons, stacks

them on euro pallets and delivers them. Depending on the size, up

to 12-14 layers of cartons are stacked on top of each other.

“We have three palletizing systems that fully automatically

assemble and stack the cartons for the transport,“ says Martijn

van Zuydam, Project Manager and SPARK Line Lead Trainer NWE

at PepsiCo. “In general, each system loads 50 pallets per hour.

If necessary, we can increase this to 100 pallets per hour per system.

This means that up to 1,200 cartons of dierent sizes can be handled

per hour.“

The cardboard pallets are transported fully automatically in the

factory and then by truck via intermediate storage to the wholesaler

for delivery. As this can sometimes be rough and extremely bumpy,

the cartons need to be stacked securely and, above all, non-slip on

the Euro pallet. They also need to be easy to destack.

PepsiCo previously used a cold adhesive system to secure the

cartons for transportation. However, there were increasing

diiculties. There were repeated uncertainties about the handling

of the system and the associated equipment. There were also high

operating costs and diiculties further down the supply chain,

for example when pallets that had already been stacked needed

to be restacked. The cold adhesive system only allows this within

a defined period of time. As a result, the cartons were damaged

during subsequent restacking and destacking.

Against this backdrop and with a view to the group‘s goal of

manufacturing its products sustainability under the motto

“Performance with Purpose“, those responsible set about

optimizing the arrangement for the safe transport of pallets and

to invest in new, future-oriented technology. An internal team

– consisting of Darko Despotovic, palletizer system operator,

PepsiCo invests in a future-proof and

sustainable solution for transporting

stacked potato chips cartons

Manuel Allan, technical

expert, and Martijn van

Zuydam – developed the

basis for a specification

sheet as part of a Sigma

Green Belt project. The

new system had to meet

the following criteria,

among others:

• Cost savings in adhesive consumption without compromising

pallet stability,

• Adjust the amount of adhesive based on the position of the

carton on the pallet,

• Individual adjustment of the amount of adhesive if a problem

occurs repeatedly at a particular pallet position with a

particular carton combination in the supply chain and

• A sustainable solution to reduce the CO

footprint.

The Nordson Solution

They chose Nordson‘s melting technology because the company

was already one of their preferred suppliers, and because they

oer their customers comprehensive support in addition to

innovative and high-precision application technology. At the

Broek op Langedijk facility, one ProBlue® Flex Melter per palletizer

was installed in combination with the P4 pressure management

system. The MiniBlue® II SureBead® hot melt applicators,

PureFlow hoses and RediFlex II Mounts were also installed.

“The ProBlue Flex Melter

has a modular design so

that it can be individually

adapted to the user‘s

requirements,“ explains

Erik van Gulik, OEM &

Key Account Manager at

Nordson. The device is

characterized by a fast

heat-up time and can

optionally be equipped

with an adhesive tracking

system, which allows users to easily measure and monitor the

volume and application of the adhesive.

The P4 Pressure Management System allows the electrical control

signal and pressures to be changed and the amount of adhesive

applied to be precisely controlled. This makes it possible to program

the application of glue according

to the load of the cartons. This

means that less adhesive is

applied to the lower cartons,

which are more heavily loaded by

the weight of the cartons stacked

on top of them and are more

stable, than to the upper cartons.

The latter can easily swing back and forth on the pallet during

shipping, for example, and therefore need to be secured more

tightly.

The MiniBlue II SureBead hot melt applicators apply adhesive

reliably, even at high stacking speeds, and their precise stitch

pattern ensures that adhesive is used sparingly. PepsiCo packs

its products in cartons of varying sizes, so four applicators are

installed on each palletizer so that they always apply adhesive

to the dierent outer

edges, taking into

account the dierent

carton dimensions.

PureFlow hoses use

innovative technology

to ensure the quality

of the adhesive used,

preventing material

degradation such as

hardening or coking.

They help reduce

downtime caused

by hose changes or

nozzle plugging. They

are installed with

RediFlex II clamps for

optimum adhesive flow.

Voice of Customer

PepsiCo commissioned the new melting system in February 2023.

“We achieved our goals and reduced our carbon footprint thanks

to lower adhesive consumption,“ concludes Martijn van Zuydam.

“We are still fine-tuning the system, but this is not because of

the hotmelt technology, but because of its integration into the

company‘s overall system. We estimate that we can reduce

the cost of the adhesives alone by around 40,000 € per year. In

any case, we have drastically reduced the number of customer

complaints and rework. This alone should save us around

100,000 € per year.

Slip-free carton stacking | 32 | Slip-free carton stacking

Nordson Packaging Solutions | www.nordson.com/packaging | packaging.solutions@nordson.com

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Nordson® application and verification tech-

nology helps eiciently apply adhesives

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Packaging applications are oen judged

equally by how they look and how well

they perform, so application systems must

apply the right amount of adhesive to be

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