PHOTO: ‘Is this thing running?’ – Charles Benn of Leadership Packaging says this is a regular question in the vicinity of the new Zerma shredder at Leaderpak, possibly brought on by the fact that the new machine operates so quietly
BLOWN film extrusion is one of the quietest of the conversion processes, but the breaking up of the lumps that result, particularly at system start-up, can be the exact opposite. Shredding of lumps can produce eardrum-shattering decibel levels which can easily exceed work place safety and health regulations.
That was the case at Leader Packaging in East London. Literally one of the leaders in the film and bag-making sector in the Eastern Cape, Leaderpak has just celebrated its 30th year in operation. Its plant has expanded successively over these years, but Leader MD Charles Benn, was not a happy chappie when it came to his existing shredder. Sourced from the Far East, the system emitted a horrendous racket which led to its fairly sudden eviction from the plant in Gonubie.
Enter the picture a Zerma ZBS-600 shredder, with a totally different result. The ZBS is considered the ‘baby’ of Zerma’s shredder range, but its throughput is nevertheless impressive: it can shred up to 170kgs an hour. The shredding of lumps is a challenging undertaking, especially on entry to the machine throat when the lump can ‘bounce’ and resist entering the cutting chamber. Not so with the Zerma we hear, and it’s happening far more quietly than expected too.
In fact, when Charles first went to check on the machine he wasn’t sure whether it was operating, so quiet was the reassuring hum from the system.
According to Jeff Cawcutt of Zerma Africa, supplier of the shredder, the ZBS is purpose-built for in-house lumps and purgings, which might come from a blow or injection moulding machine or blown film extruder during start-up, shut-down, or during material and colour changes.
“These lumps are generally too big for most existing granulators so many manufacturers end up selling the lumps and miss the opportunity to re-process the material. The ZBS shredder is a very compact ‘plug-and-play’ machine, relying on its tangential gravity infeed which eliminates the need for a hydraulic pusher,” said Jeff.
New depot in Wilsonia With two plants, one in Gonubie (Leaderpak) and one near the Da Gama Business Park (Ecopak) close to the N2, Leader Packaging has also opened a new depot in Wilsonia – expanding to become one of the bigger film and bag companies outside of the main centres.
Charles explained that Leader’s two manufacturing plants have put strain on its existing National Distribution Centre (NDC), resulting in the new and much larger distribution facility in Wilsonia. The new NDC, which is situated virtually between its two plants, allows articulated trucks to load up inside the facility, greatly improving the company’s ability to service its national footprint.
Eight years ago, Leaderpak embarked on a massive expansion programme, resulting in a new division of the group, known as ‘Ecopak’. The core business of the new operation is recycling and the re-introduction of this recyclate into corporate, branded commercial packaging via co-extrusion.
“By encapsulating the recyclate between two layers of virgin polymer, the carbon footprint of a shopping bag can be reduced significantly, while at the same time maintaining standard substrate colours and eliminating any unwanted odours which are usually associated with recycled plastic. The process has been embraced by a number of corporate retailers with their traditional branded shopping bags now containing between 50 and 75% of recycled plastic materials,” Charles said.
He believes that the retail market will enjoy reasonable growth going forward and he is looking at various packaging options in that space.
“Now, with some serious on-site space available with the new distribution centre, we can expect some exciting manufacturing expansions in the very near future which will enhance the group’s current product basket,” he added.
We wish Leader good luck with the expansion!