Intralox S560 Technology Enables Reliable Transfers for Kwik Trip's High-speed Bakery Line
Intralox’s upgraded tight transfer belting solved the sprocket engagement issues we were having. There’s been no maintenance needed on the Series 560 belt in this application.
Matt Sloan
Bakery Maintenance Manager at Kwik Trip, Inc.
Customer Objectives
Kwik Trip is a chain of convenience stores with locations in the upper midwestern U.S. The company manufactures many of the products sold in their stores, including sandwich buns which are made fresh at their bakery facilities in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
At first, the La Crosse plant’s high-speed bun line performed well with Intralox Series 550 belting. But significant sprocket disengagement and misalignment issues arose, which created bottlenecks at the transfer points. Maintenance workers remained on-call to fix instances of sprocket misalignment, which caused headaches, unscheduled downtime, product damage, and scrap. Kwik Trip tried replacing the S550 with competitor belts, but the problems remained. They needed a smooth, reliable solution.
Intralox Execution
When plant officials brought their concerns back to Intralox, our engineering team got to work creating an improved, stronger tight transfer belt with superior sprocket engagement. Once the solution was developed, Kwik Trip agreed to field test it at their bakery facilities. The new belt—Intralox S560 Tight Transfer—worked exceptionally well and proved a significant upgrade over their previous setup.
Results
Reinvented specifically to solve the sprocket issues identified at Kwik Trip, Intralox S560 technology enables smooth, seamless, and reliable transfers. The improved sprockets have eliminated misalignment issues, and the belt’s robust build and smaller pitch make S560 the strongest tight transfer belt in the food industry.
Since installing S560 belts and sprockets, Kwik Trip’s high-speed bun line has run smoothly at maximum speed with no unscheduled downtime. Product damage and waste have been greatly reduced, product alignment at transfer has improved, and maintenance staff no longer need to watch over the line’s transfer points.
Compared to previous solutions, which all failed after roughly six weeks, Intralox’s S560 belt ran for 15 months on Kwik Trip’s line with no issues. The plant manager is extremely pleased that what was once a trouble spot is now a well-performing “no worry” area in the facility.
