Press Release
11 February 2016

Balers handle more than 100 tons per day at new COOP distribution centre

COOP's newest distribution centre will come online later this month and is relying on four Presona LP Series balers to process daily deliveries of more than 100 tons of recycled materials from its reverse logistics operation.

Located in Schafisheim, 30 miles east of Zurich in Switzerland, the centre is said to have been the country's biggest private construction site. As well as providing regional distribution, the centre will process packaging and waste from all COOP stores in the area.

The new centre replaces a network of smaller centres. The revised logistics plan will reduce lorry movements and road miles, helping COOP to meet its ambition of cutting CO2-emissions by 10,000 tonnes a year.

When fully operational, the centre will process more than 100 tonnes of PET-bottles, plastic film, plastic packaging, wooden pallets, cardboard, and waste, including organic waste, daily. The material will be sorted and compacted into bales for recycling or supply to waste-to-energy facilities.

The high compaction ratio provided by Presona LP Series balers has helped COOP to optimise lorry loads, reducing transportation costs and movements, and further helping the retailer towards its high-priority goal to reduce the CO2-emissions.

The baling system was designed and installed by Hunkeler Systeme AG, Presona´s distributor in Switzerland. It comprises one LP 85 VH unit, three LP 60 VH units and conveyor system.

With the balers weighing up to 25 tonnes, manoeuvring them in to position within the super-sized building required a precision process. Each baler was delivered to site and taken into the building through the loading bays where the trucks will dock for loading and unloading. To facilitate the process, the Hunkeler team used air cushions to 'float' the balers onto their foundations with a minimum of disturbance.

In just four days, the four balers were erected ready for operation.

One third of material will be processed in two hours

The baling system, designed by Hunkeler to minimize environmental impact, can process more than 100 tons of material per day. A third of the material flow arrives early in the morning and must be processed within two to three hours to avoid overfilling of the site.

Cardboard, plastic packaging and PET-bottles are tipped onto the conveyor system, which measures more than 100m in length, from 32 picking stations. The material is then fed into the four Presona balers. The LP 85 VH exerts 85 tonnes of force on the material, while the three LP 60 VH units each have a press force of 60 tonnes.

The system has been designed to provide optimized material compaction and operator safety. The plant is equipped with an automated personal safety system for maximum security for operating personnel.

Hunkeler has also delivered an automated system to process the organic waste, residues and wood.

For more information, please visitwww.presona.se

ENDS

Images: the image above is available to download using the following link: Presona balers at new COOP centre

For more information, please contact Adrienne Robins at Green Tiger Communications.

Tel: 07855 643094. Email: Adrienne@greentigercommunications.co.uk.