Rawlplug’s chemicals. This is how you implement a MASTER PLAN
There is no room for coincidence here. The consistent and systemic development of the Chemicals Production Department can be perceived as a model example of the implementation of Rawlplug’s development strategy. Similar processes now cover all areas of the production activity conducted at our HQ.
Last year, Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department welcomed the arrival of another new machine: the fully automated NAP-03 BIS, filling 175, 300 and 600 ml film packs. As the name itself suggests, it is a twin of the NAP-03 which has been operated in Wrocław since 2018. Why are these two Rawlplug’s machines mirror reflections of each other? How do they affect the production of Rawlplug’s flagship chemical anchors? And why is it already clear that they will work perfectly with the other, both current and future, pieces of the entire process and technology puzzle?
There is but a single answer: the MASTER PLAN
In order to fully understand the rationale behind the changes and investments at the Chemicals Production Department, one should first recall some watershed moments witnessed in this area over the past five or six years.
Table of contents
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department (pictured below)
Stage I: comprehensive machinery replacement
The bottleneck was primarily attributable to the mixing units, which really needed to be replaced with more efficient machines, capable of controlling the mixing process parameters, prepared for integration with further subunits and systems, and efficient enough to meet the rapidly growing market demand.
This is why the Chemicals Production Department received:
- a new hydraulic press,
- and two identical dissolvers (with a working capacity of 1,000 l) of high shearing force, designed for high-viscosity mixtures,
only to be followed by:
- the first fully automatic film pack filling machine in the stock, enabling full control of component dosage, pack length and weight (built-in dynamic weighing system), namely the NAP-03 mentioned above.
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department
- The NAP-01new machine, also designed along with Rawlplug’s partner and operated at the Wrocław HQ since 2019, has substituted for the cartridge filling machines: NAP-01 and NAP-02. What it has contributed to the new equipment stock is fully automatic production: from charging buffer feeders with components (pistons, cartridges) to affixing a label with the pre-printed expiry date and batch number on each individual cartridge. The NAP-01new also features two weighing stations, which makes the machine highly accurate, and which is of paramount importance in terms of compliance with the applicable quality requirements and standards. This state-of-the-art unit is equipped with vision systems (cameras) that verify piston positions and make selections in fractions of seconds. The low waste rates (1–2%) and accurate dosing translate into a lower technical cost of the final product. The fact that the NAP-01new guarantees reduced waste volumes is also extremely important with respect to the company-wide environmental strategy.
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department
Stage II: new production hall
More than a year ago, the Chemicals Production Department was moved to another building, where the other two production departments: Assembly and Plastics, previously reorganised, had already been running their operations.
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department
Before the reorganisation, the entire hall had been renovated and prepared specifically for that purpose. The work included:
- wall finishing,
- replacing skylights,
- reinforcing floors,
- embedding the presses into the floor slab (for improved operator ergonomics),
- completely new electrical, lighting, and fire protection systems,
- ventilation suited for chemical production and meeting the ATEX directive requirements.
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department
Stage III: continued automation
Last year, as part of the comprehensive process automation at the Chemicals Production Department, we launched a system for the storage and transport of resin in buffer tanks and sand in a silo. The investment took us three years to complete. The solutions deployed under the project provided the dissolvers with fully automated control of:
- dosing of raw materials from buffer tanks/silo,
- mixing time and speed,
- and vacuum generation process.
A third system, integrated at the same time, extended the capabilities of the mixing units in control of both the resin and sand storage and transport system as well as the mixing process with a capacity to control the operation of the ventilation system’s exhausts at each stage of the mixture production.
Stage IV: partial migration of processes
All the changes taking place at the Chemicals Production Department over the past few years are closely interlinked. The replacement of the machinery stock in Wrocław was combined with the transfer of some processes to Asia.
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department
Thailand performed so well that – despite initial problems – we managed to launch the production of anchors in glass capsules there, and so now they are manufactured by Rawlplug exclusively in Asia (which we wrote about recently).
Stage V: outcomes and follow-up
Rawlplug’s plans arising from the growing demand for bonded anchors are even more ambitious. In their pursuit, we are supported not only by our qualified personnel and the machinery purchased over the recent years, but also by the consistent automation of the processes implemented at the Wrocław site, providing grounds for the functioning of a truly modern company.
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department
What’s in store for us? Quite a lot. Only in the nearest future, Rawlplug’s Production Department awaits:
- commissioning of a battery-powered trolley with a drum grab, which will unburden operators and accelerate the processes of component changeover under the presses,
- systematic departure from manual weighing in favour of automated transport and dosing of raw materials,
- continued automation of the previously manual packaging processes for finished products,
- implementation of two new labelling machines, enabling further automation and integration of individual packaging operations
Anna Jarzycka-Walczak
Manager of Rawlplug’s Chemicals Production Department
About an author
Michał Raińczuk
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