Background
This family-owned company specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of food and food-related products. Significantly, the company is a leading national food service distributor to restaurants, casinos, resorts, healthcare facilities, educational facilities, and more. Because of this, they utilize a variety of totes and bins in the distribution of products.
Parts Cleaning Challenge
The FDA has regulations in place for food distribution. In order to be in compliance, these plastic totes and bins need to be cleaned regularly to remove dirt, organic food matter, and other materials to prevent the contamination of the food in transport. Employees at the facility manually washed 400 plastic totes a day, 18″ x 26″ x 6″, with a power washer, the results of which did not meet cleaning requirements. Consequently, the process was inefficient and wasted water and human resources. With this in mind, they needed an automated system to effectively clean a large volume of totes for reuse.
Solution/System
The solution was a model C-24 tote bin washer with a 24-inch-wide belt, a 20-inch working height, and consisting of 3-stages: recirculated wash, recirculated rinse, and short blow-off with a 10 HP regenerative blower. Another key point is that the totes are loaded onto the conveyor on edge.
In addition, adjustable side guide rails support the totes and can accommodate new bins of other sizes. Furthermore, the throughput is 400 totes/day in a single 8-hour shift. Other system features include insulation, safety guards on the load and unload ends, automatic 24-hour/7-day timer, filtration rated for 200 GPM, and a steam exhaust system.
Results
The results were that the automated tote washer provided consistent and thorough cleaning of all totes, ensuring that the company met regulatory cleaning guidelines. Likewise, they increased their productivity, utilized their human resources in other areas, and saved money on water.
Please contact us to learn more about cleaning applications and systems like this!
