Recently, a major retailer in the packaged liquor, wine and spirits industry approached Thomas Conveyor & Equipment with a challenging task. This retailer was converting an old grocery store into one of their newest outlets for wine and spirits. The receiving area was located in the back of the store, but a majority of the storage area was located on the second floor closer to the sales area. The task was to convey new inventory from the receiving area up to the second floor storage area safely without taking up much floor space. It would have to pass through two wall openings on its way to the storage area as well. They also wanted to make the conveyor reversible to send product down to stock the sales floor as needed.
Thomas Conveyor conducted a series of site visits with the customer and general contractor to take critical measurements and account for any obstructions, and layouts of the existing space and gain knowledge of how the customer wanted to use the space. Key factors included minimum floor usage, safety of personnel using the system, speed and operational considerations.
Thomas Conveyor’s solution included a mixture of several types of conveyor equipment to accomplish this goal. Equipment included:
Two (2) Incline belt conveyors (Roach Model 796 RBF) that provide high load capacity, reversing flow and nose-over option that allows smooth transition of boxes traveling up or down the conveyor. Rough top belts were used to provide great “grip” on both the incline and decline of product.
Two (2) reversing belt driven live roller conveyors (Roach Model 196LRC) to provide 90º curves to keep the conveyor as close to the walls to maximize space utilization.
Also included in the system were two sections of gravity (non-powered conveyor) Roach Model 196G. These sections were added to the beginning and end of the system to assist with loading and unloading of boxes in a safe manner.
The system was installed using special engineered bracket hangers so a majority of the system was hung from these brackets to eliminate the need for floor supports giving the customer use of much of the floor space below. This also gave us the ability to span door openings, clear HVAC ductwork and other obstacles that would have been impossible using standard floor supports.
The conveyor system included photo-eyes for automatic start/stop when conveyor was “full,” a custom control panel with remote push button stations for system operation from several points, warning lights and horns to alert personnel that the system was starting up, and complete netting around the elevated portions of the conveyor for added safety. Thomas Conveyor provided full mechanical and electrical installation of the entire system, working along side a variety of other sub-contractors to complete the project on time.
Contact Thomas Conveyor and Equipment at 844-220-0086 to discuss your next conveyor project. We will work with you to provide and efficient, practical and safe solution to your conveying needs. We have the experience and a full range of material handling equipment to get the job done right.