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Increased Cleaning Capacity + Solvent Savings
A Daetwyler Analyze, Design, Implement, Measure Success Story
In-house parts washing means more solvent, and more solvent waste – two additional expenses Daetwyler was able to save our client with complete solutions for washing as well as solvent distillation…
Downtime associated with cleaning is one of the most challenging expenses of running a printing or coating business. Machine washing is not only faster than inefficient, labor-intensive hand-cleaning, it’s often less expensive and yields better results. A flexo shop client working with solvent-based flexible packaging for the food & beverage industry, wanted to clean multiple parts from a variety of different ink systems, while also creating an automated system that required less manpower (and less employee turnover on one of the dirtiest jobs in the company).
Additionally, the company had recently installed new presses with on-board washing, but their existing solvent distillation system was inadequate for handling the amount of solvent generated by the new presses. The existing unit also required significant time for manual operation and constant supervision.
HOW ANALYZE, DESIGN, IMPLEMENT, MEASURVE MADE A DIFFERENCE
Our experience with cleaning goes beyond “standard” solutions – and our unique holistic approach meant we understood the client’s true end goals. They wanted the effectiveness and simplicity, and needed solutions that would help better manage both availability and cost of labor.
Daetwyler’s experts were able to work together with the team to identify the two distinct needs in the press room, and then create custom solutions that would save time, manpower, and downtime. In this case, it meant isolating the two sides of the issue.
Parts Cleaning:
• A D.W. Renzmann Type 300 caustic parts washing system.
• This system was large enough to accept all the press parts sizes. In addition, the heated caustic wash was able to effectively clean every ink type.
• The parts washing system reduced employees in that area to only 2 per shift, and also made the work less labor intensive and safer.
Solvent Distillation:
• A ROTOmaX distillation unit.
This replaced an existing distillation unit with an almost fully automated system that required minimal manpower to operate. The ROTOmaX unit’s bottom-mounted scrapers and steam heat also delivered a 19% improvement in solvent recovery over the previous distillation unit.
By bringing in a professional-grade cleaning system, and automated solvent distillation the company has been able to experience enhanced waste operations across the board.
- Less out-of-pocket expense for multiple washing systems
- Reduced waste streams and simpler cleaning operations (less manpower required)
- Better space utilization from equipment that required less space to operate
- Improved workflow in the parts cleaning area
- More thoroughly cleaned parts
- Better press turnover due to better efficiency in throughput of dirty parts and quicker return of clean parts to operational status
- Greater energy-efficiency and lower energy costs
- Reduced solvent waste and associated disposal costs
- Fewer employees in the parts washing area meant the company could afford to pay a higher wage to those employees to improve retention.
- More experienced workers could spend more time running presses and less time on parts washing — which means increased profitability for the whole company.
