Balaji Wafers Automates Its Salty Snack Lines with Intralox Packer to Palletizer Solutions
Since the first day Intralox’s merging and sorting solutions were installed in our three plants, their performance has been seamless and we have experienced zero challenges with them. I continue to encourage my team to engage with Intralox for future layouts as well. We look at Intralox as a trusted partner and not just a supplier.
Keyur Virani
Balaji Wafers Director
Customer Objectives
Balaji Wafers—one of India’s leading snack food manufacturers—was using manual labor to pack product bags into corrugated boxes, which were transferred by hand trolley to be hand palletized. With demand for their salty snacks growing, Balaji’s management realized laborers wouldn’t be able to keep up in the packer and palletizer areas. The company decided to install automatic case packers (ACPs) to replace manual packing, and collaborative robots (COBOTs) to automate palletizing at its three plants. The challenge? Balaji needed to efficiently move boxes between the ACPs and COBOTs in the space available. For reliable, lowmaintenance conveyance solutions, Balaji partnered with Intralox.
Intralox Execution
The Intralox team provided line layout consulting services to determine optimal conveyance within the existing footprints. Demo3D was used to simulate and compare different technologies, giving Balaji’s officials confidence in Intralox’s recommendations. Once boxes passed through the ACPs to be filled, Intralox’s Activated Roller Belt (ARB) Virtual Pocket Merge delivered them at a high rate onto the trunk line. From there, an ARB 90-Degree Transfer S400 sorted cases by SKU to the COBOTs for automatic palletizing. Intralox modular plastic belting (MPB) was installed between the ACPs and COBOTs to connect the conveyors. Intralox worked closely with Balaji’s trusted OEM partner, OMTECH, to supply design support and training. Intralox also provided remote installation supervision, post-installation audits, biannual continuing health checks, and other services to address conveyance-related issues across Balaji’s entire lines.
Results
Since engaging with Intralox in 2020, Balaji has experienced no unplanned downtime at these key applications in their plants. The belts and automation systems have been working seamlessly, minimal maintenance is required, and all customer expectations have been met. With Intralox’s ARB technology—which is capable of accommodating changes in case sizes, types, and throughput rates—Balaji’s back-end automation is fully future ready.
