- Challenge: Maker of luxury sea craft needed to reduce the number of workers associated with trash removal to reassign them to other tasks.
- Solution: The RotoPac industrial waste compactor is situated at the source of the waste. At the plant they have placed two rotary arm compactors, the RotoPacs directly on the assembly line and one in the distribution center to manage the 60 tons of trash.
- Result: Reduced disposal costs, labor hours and workplace accidents. Prior to this dumpsters had to be emptied eight to ten times a day by two forklift operators who emptied the smaller dumpsters into a larger open-top dumpster at a remote location. Now trips to the dumpster have been significantly reduced. Also an added benefit of reducing forklift traffic within the facility is that a safety concern has been alleviated. Client indicates that the RotoPac is easy to install and does not require a full-time operator like a baler does. They were able to reduce staff hours and pay for the RotoPacs within a year.
Saving money on trash hauling costs while saving staff hours on waste disposal operations also reduces forklift traffic, a safety concern.
Commitment to quality and customer satisfaction is not just an ideal, but a published corporate policy for Sea Ray, a manufacturer of pleasure boats. Unfortunately, manufacturing large quantities of pleasure boats also produces an enormous amount of trash. Handling this unwelcome byproduct in an efficient manner is not a luxury, but an absolute necessity, and several of Sea Ray’s own plants, have turned to an alternative waste management method, the RotoPac industrial compactor. The compactor is situated at the source of the waste to reduce disposal costs, labor hours and workplace accidents.
The RotoPac compactor has a 4-ft. x 5-ft. footprint and is about the size of a standard pallet. This enables one of Sea Ray’s plants to place two machines directly on the assembly line and one in the distribution center to manage the 60 tons of trash generated while producing several sport cruisers each week. “ We were lucky to find the KenBay RotoPac early in our search and didn’t need to trial any other methods.” Says Craig, operations manager of the plant. “ We are always looking to cut our costs.”
With research showing that air can compose up to 80% of a dumpster’s load, the RotoPac helped Sea Ray eliminate this costly inefficiency. Prior to the RotoPac, the plant’s dumpsters had to be emptied eight to ten times a day by two forklift operators who emptied the smaller dumpsters into a larger open-top dumpster at a remote location. Craig said that both the number of forklift operators and the hauls to the dumpster have been reduced in half since using the RotoPac, and because it is a self-contained unit, trash is less visible. “The RotoPac also had the added benefit of reducing forklift traffic within our facility, always a safety concern,” Craig adds.
A heavy-duty polyethylene bag is placed inside the machine, but before the crushing process starts, a metal shield descends into it, protecting the bag from sharp objects. Wet and/or dry trash can be deposited through the top of the machine, sealed and then removed from the bottom after compaction. The continuous hydraulic compaction is different than traditional compactors, which generally spring back after crushing waste.
The RotoPac is quiet and small enough to situate near most operations, saving staff hours and reducing safety concerns incurred from carting loose waste to remote trash containers. It is easy to install, does not require a full-time operator, and includes many safety features to prevent accidents.
Another of Sea Ray’s plants had an similar experience. It churns out 100 sport cruisers and sport boats, as well as 48 tons of trash during the same time period. “Before, we had standard nine-yard dumpsters in the two locations that had to be emptied out three and four times a day. At the end of each shift, there would be a line waiting for the forklift to return, “explains Jay, operations manager at the plant.
“ Now the carpet trash isn’t even removed once a day and the RotoPac, sitting in the middle if the line, is emptied only about twice a day. We still have a dedicated forklift operator, but we were able to use the time freed up for him to work in the other areas that weren’t being serviced properly.”
