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As we come upon the end of the year and enter into the holiday season, we would like to pass on some important information.

First, Span Tech will commence our holiday shut down period at 4:00 p.m. (CST) December 23, 2019 and we will resume normal operations beginning at 7:00 a.m. January 2, 2020.

Also, now is the time to start planning for holiday shut down projects and placing your Span Tech parts on order.  Our Spare Parts Department is standing by and ready to assist with pricing and availability.

If you have a project you need to get on order, by all means do so as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns reach out to your Regional Sales Manager, Account Manager or just give us a call at 270-651-9166.  We will be happy to assist you with any of your material handling needs.

 

At Span Tech, we love any opportunity to share our passion and experience with people. In September 2019, we got to do just that when we attended Pack Expo. This incredible event showcases advanced packaging equipment, materials, and containers from exhibitors.

We look forward to Pack Expo every year, and 2019 certainly didn’t disappoint. When you have 30,000 packaging professionals and 2,000 of the industry’s top suppliers, you’re in for a treat. Events like these are the perfect way for our customers to get an in-depth look at the power of Span Tech conveyor systems and experience their capabilities firsthand.

One of the best things about Pack Expo was meeting with potential partners who are facing a conveyance problem and need a solution. If there’s one thing we love at Span Tech, it’s helping other people by putting our conveyor systems to the test.

We enjoyed showing people the quality and experience that go into every product we create. It’s one thing to read about these conveyor systems and hear about the Span Tech difference, but it’s even better when you can see them in person.

We want to thank everyone who visited our booth! Meeting with you all is what truly made Pack Expo 2019 such a wonderful event, and we greatly appreciate your time. We realize there were many booths to choose from, and we’re grateful for your interest. We look forward to working with you in the future and providing you with top-quality expertise and packaging solutions.

In case you missed Pack Expo 2019, here’s a breakdown of the conveyor systems we showcased:

• Incline Conveyor
• Topper Lift
• Spiral Elevator Conveyor
• Twist Conveyor
• Helical Conveyor
• EZSpan Belt Conveyor

If you’d like more information about our experience at Pack Expo or have questions about our conveyor systems and services, don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to seeing you at the next Pack Expo in 2020!

The phrase “lean manufacturing” has become quite buzzworthy these days, and it certainly deserves the attention. This popular technique is changing the way many companies like the Toyota Motor Corporation operate and create their products. But what is lean manufacturing and how can it benefit your facility? This expert guide will examine the fundamentals of this process and provide some warehouse improvement ideas you can start implementing today.

What is Lean Manufacturing?

Lean manufacturing is the systematic reduction of waste in a business’s manufacturing process. To determine what is defined as “waste,” a company will take a closer look at the procedures it executes to create its products. Those procedures are categorized in one of two ways: value-added components or non-value-added components.

A value-added component is an action or expense that directly leads to products or services for which a customer is willing to pay. For example, if a car company were to paint a car blue during the manufacturing process, a customer would be willing to pay for this effort. Therefore, it is something deemed as adding value.

In comparison, non-value-added components are actions or expenses during the manufacturing process for which customers would not be willing to pay. An example of this is the cost of shipping the car from the country where it was built to the country where it will be sold.

These two categories help manufacturers decide which procedures require lean process improvement. A value-added component can typically remain as it is, while something deemed as not adding value is seen as producing waste in warehouse procedures.

Before you conclude your facility can’t use any lean process improvement, think again. According to the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC), up to 60% of production activities in a typical manufacturing operation are determined to be waste. But that doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. When a procedure is referred to as “non-value-added,” there are plenty of opportunities for lean process improvement. Before that can happen, it’s important to examine each non-value-added procedure and label it as one of the eight types of waste found in warehouses.

Waste in Warehouse Problems & Lean Manufacturing Solutions

Each non-value-added component can be categorized as at least one of eight lean manufacturing waste types. Use this section to help you identify which types your warehouse may be experiencing. Then, refer to our warehouse improvement ideas for helpful guidance and solutions.

1. Movement

Of course, some forms of moving are crucial during manufacturing. But moving around becomes a problem when employees have to walk or relocate to retrieve things that could be closer in proximity. Employees experience this when they have to walk to get supplies which could be located closer to the point of use.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

The phrase “seiton” translates to “straighten”, and it’s one of the main principles of lean manufacturing. It involves creating a proper place for everything your business uses to maximize efficiency.

Your employees have to use certain tools and supplies on a daily basis. Keep those items close by, so they don’t have to travel far to retrieve them. This will ultimately save them time and save you money.

2. Excess Inventory

Dealing with obsolete inventory can present a lot of obstacles. Typically, these items haven’t been sold for a long time and aren’t expected to sell in the foreseeable future.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

The key here is “seiri” or sorting. You want to separate the necessary items from the unnecessary. Better organization may not get these items out of your warehouse, but it will make the process of locating current inventory faster and easier.

3. Delays

Unfortunately, manufacturing facilities often experience a lag in time when parts they need are missing. This pause in your employees’ work can waste valuable minutes and even hours.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

The lean manufacturing phrase “Shitsuke” translates to “maintaining consistency and striving for improvement.” In this case, a great way to apply it is by first examining the situation. Take a look at what occurred to cause the delay, and brainstorm ideas to stop it in the future. Then create a new procedure to follow that lessens the chance of the delay happening again.

4. Transport

This entails moving equipment, tools and various materials around when it isn’t necessary.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

For example, warehouses often use conveyors that wind around a building while transporting a company’s product. Often, transporting items like this is unnecessary and wastes time. Using a specialty conveyor can provide a more direct route to increase efficiency.

5. Overproduction

Creating too many items or the wrong type of item can result in costly mistakes. Overproduction is a less than ideal situation for both the company and the customer.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

Lean manufacturing stresses continuous improvement. In this situation, you want to look for the cause of overproduction. Did poor communication take place? Was there a lack of organization? It’s helpful to recognize how overproduction has occurred and build a plan around reducing and avoiding in the future.

6. Defects

No one likes a faulty product. Failing to produce a quality part usually results in having to manufacture the item all over again. This means you’ll have to spend more money on something that should have been done right the first time.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

Aim for automation with a human touch. At the first sign of a problem or defect, stop the manufacturing process. This will prevent more products from being made incorrectly, and it also allows you to assess the situation.

7. Overprocessing

Does the phrase “We’ve always done it this way” sound familiar? If so, your facility is probably a victim of overprocessing.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

When possible, cut redundant steps out of your manufacturing process. Just because something is tradition doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.

8. Ignoring Employees’ Input and Skills

Many companies focus on the product and forget the people. This results in disgruntled employees and can have a domino effect of negative consequences that hurt your business.

Warehouse Improvement Ideas

One of the biggest values in lean manufacturing is putting people first. Your employees are the heart and soul of your business. In many ways, they’re your most valuable asset. It’s important to utilize their skillsets and get their feedback on the manufacturing procedure. In doing this, you’ll make them feel valued, and your company will be more successful.

Start Lean Manufacturing and Get More Warehouse Improvement Ideas with Span Tech

We realize introducing any new concept into your warehouse is no small feat. For lean process improvement, you need the right guidance and equipment. That’s why Span Tech is here to help. Our top-quality conveyor systems are a great tool to help your business reduce waste in warehouse procedures. For additional information on our products and how to implement lean manufacturing, contact our customer service team today!

Creating a cosmetics manufacturing business can be an overwhelming endeavor. During the planning stage, you have a lot of important choices to make. These decisions will have a large impact on the overall success of your cosmetic business. If you overlook a crucial part of the process, you could put your new company at risk. While this list is in no way exhaustive, it’s a great starting point for your new line of business. To assist you during this exciting time, we’ve put together a handy guide for starting a manufacturing facility for cosmetics.

Continue reading “How to Start a Cosmetic Manufacturing Company in 6 Steps” →

For Span Tech and our Partners 2018 was an exciting and record year. With our focus on the future we anticipate nothing but more successes for 2019. Continued growth within the organization is expected, allowing us to create even more innovative products and solutions for our customers. By implementing our new training programs and making significant investments in our services and systems enhancements, we invite our Partners to utilize the full capabilities of our products and services.

 

SALES & SERVICE CENTER

This past year we celebrated the 1^st anniversary of our Wisconsin Sales & Service Center! Interest and participation has been tremendous. We expect things to grow even more in 2019 with the continued goal of educating and demonstrating our conveyors full potential. We are focused on bringing our Distributors, OEMs, Integrators and End Users the very best services for product testing to demonstrate how Span Tech can provide the lowest possible total cost of ownership solution. Our goal is to ensure that Span Tech be the best option for all your material handling needs. Let us show you! Contact us at info@spantechllc.com to schedule time and experience it for yourself.

 

SYSTEMS UPGRADES

Substantial investments are ongoing, to enhance our proprietary software systems. With the constant goal of becoming ever more connected and streamlined, by automating applications for use internally as well as with many of our signed Distributor, OEM and LA Partners. These upgrades have and will further improve operational workflow, design solution validation and data collection capabilities with a goal to improve our speed to deliver solutions. With quicker pricing and status updates, utilizing web-based technologies Span Tech and our Partners will be kept on the forefront of providing the best service and support possible – giving the advantages of the best overall buying experience in the industry.

 

EDUCATIONAL TRAINING

NOW ENROLLING for 2019 – We have transformed our Training and Development programs to suit our customer’s needs and we’re very excited to roll out our Span Tech Customer Training Program. This is a new version of Span Tech University for our signed Distributors & OEM’s.  Span Tech University consists of 7 courses taken online in mini-modules.  Once courses are completed, these customers will be invited to our Span Tech manufacturing and training facilities in Kentucky or the Service Center in Wisconsin for in-house hands-on training day. Our goal is to provide valuable information and give our Partners access to training that is easy to access and understand, improves our customer’s knowledge, and provides real-life experience.  2019 will be an exciting year for Span Tech and our Customers. Want to learn more? Contact us! info@spantechllc.com

 

EVENTS

We are attending and exhibiting at several 2019 events. If you would like to schedule a meeting and get to know us better, email us at info@spantechllc.com.

 

Attending –

International Production & Processing Expo | Feb 11 – 13

ProMat / Apr 8 – 11

Automation World / May 14 – 15

Pack East / June 11 – 18

 

Exhibiting –

International Production & Processing Expo | Feb 11 – 13

PACK EXPO Las Vegas – Packaging Trade Show / September 23 – 25

This will be another exciting year and we look forward to working with our Customers. Innovation and Customer Service continues to be our focus as we are always working on smarter, safer and more automated solutions. Our priority is to help our Customers shine, by anticipating change and solving your material handing needs. We are up to the challenge and here for you. Be prepared to Outlast. Outperform. Outdeliver.

Efficiency of your packaging and distribution facility decreasing? Have you considered a Topper Lift?

The Changing-Elevation Topper Lift from Span Tech is able to tackle tricky angles, elevation changes and product orientation changes without a programmable logic controller and with a much smaller footprint than other options, increasing overall productivity and adaptability.

When considering whether a Topper Lift is right for you and your company, ask yourself these four questions.

1. Do We Need to Raise Or Lower Materials As Part of Our Operation?

Sometimes production requires materials to be raised or lowered due to assembly line orientation. A custom conveyor, such as the Topper Lift, may be the most efficient solution.

2. Do We Need To Save Floor Space?

Are you tight on space and looking for a conveyor with a smaller footprint? With the Topper Lift, you’re able to tackle tricky angles and elevation changes within virtually any space you have to work with. The upper chain of the Topper Lift drapes downward and rides on the lower transport conveyor, allowing it to act as a moving top keeper. With a combination of high-friction and conventional chain types, the Topper Lift is able to incline and decline products at angles of up to 60 degrees. This is a much steeper angle of incline or decline than would otherwise be possible. By holding items gently but securely against the conveyor as they move, the Topper Lift helps put steep angles within your reach, no matter the size of your facility.

3. Does Orientation Of Our Materials Matter?

If the orientation of your materials is of the utmost importance, the Topper Lift can help. When using the changing-elevation Topper Lift, your products will stay completely upright. The upper chain guides ensure that your products won’t tip over while ascending or descending on the conveyor. And the Topper Lift can handle both rigid and flexible products, so you don’t have to worry about any potential breakage.

4. Are The Items We’re Handling Fairly Sturdy?

If the items you’re moving are fairly strong, a Topper Lift can handle them with ease. That includes most bagged, boxed or frozen items. But if they’re more on the delicate side, you may want to look into a different conveyor system or solution that is better suited for fragile items.

Let Us Help

The Topper Lift is just one possible solution to improve packaging and distributing efficiency, and it can be combined with other specialized conveyor features for maximum results. Let Span Tech create a completely customized conveyor system to fit your needs. Need a quote, have a question or need more information? Contact our customer service team today.

With beach weather upon us, it’s that time of year that we experience an amped-up surge in our workload approaching — Summer Shutdown.

So what are Summer Shutdowns all about?

Many of our customer’s shutdown for continuous improvement efforts and to minimize or eliminate additional downtime during regular operations. It’s a perfect opportunity to upgrade or replace equipment, make improvements or changes to production lines, and conduct maintenance that CAN’T be done at just any time – many of these functions require shutting down all or portions of an assembly line. Hence, the Summer Shutdown.

Shutdown duration’s vary but typically average 1 – 3 weeks, so it’s important to plan ahead and use that time wisely. Not every worker in an operation gets a few weeks off though – for the most part, summer shutdowns apply only to those working on the assembly lines. But for those that maintain the equipment, it’s time to get things done to ensure everything starts back up and keeps operations moving along efficiently.

 

So how will you be spending your Summer Shutdown?

To get maximum benefit – it’s key to plan ahead. It’s not too early to start thinking about the improvements that will help make your facility future-proof. If it falls upon your shoulders to increase productivity and reduce errors on the line, there’s a good chance you can use a little assistance. Span Tech has been assisting facilities to exceed their goals for decades, so in preparing for seasonal shutdowns, here are some ideas on how we can help;

 

Pre-ordering Spare Parts:

We recommend keeping Bill of Materials Spare Parts on hand at all times – having the right parts on hand when you need them will save you valuable time and money on things like expediting, freight/shipping and can help eliminate patch jobs.

With the job number, we can access drawings and bill of materials to locate everything you need quickly.

We understand things happen, and if you should need something quickly, we have the ability to expedite and can usually fabricate within one day in case of some catastrophic failure or oversight.

Contact our Parts Team today – here to meet your expectations and handle all your parts needs.

 

Schedule Customer Service Calls:

Here at Span Tech, we like to offer a proactive approach to Customer Service.

 

Proactive Services we suggest include:

 

• System Audits and Conveyor Evaluations – to catch unforeseen issues that may cause costly future downtime.
• Installation Supervision – we come to your facility and guide your installation crew during the mechanical installation or field modifications of our conveyor to ensure they are installed safely and properly. This frees up your Maintenance Technicians for more complex OEM equipment.
• Preventative Maintenance Agreements – can be set up on a Monthly or Quarterly basis.
• Classroom and Hands-on Maintenance Service Training Programs – with over 29 years of combined knowledge and expertise we can pass along to your Maintenance staff to make them at ease when working on Span Tech conveyors. Offered at our locations in; Glasgow, KY and our new Service Center in Waukesha, WI.

Contact our Customer Service Team today to schedule time and order parts to be ready for your Shutdown period – to do maintenance and help get you running in the shortest possible time-frame.

It’s the perfect time to make improvements that will make a major difference to your operation – that you DON’T have the time for other months of the year. Take advantage of the Summer Shutdown and let Span Tech help you refresh and refurbish before your restart.

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Engineering the Perfect Solution

The role of an engineer in the Conveyor industry is extremely important in order to achieve the perfect solution for our Partners. Our Design Engineers are the backbone of our success, with over 300 years combined experience, drawing from a multitude of educational backgrounds and disciplines. They are experts in problem solving with flexible, out of the box thinking, able to design and fulfill complex needs.

Product conveyance is a necessity in virtually every manufacturing facility. No matter what the industry, raw materials are brought into the plant, products in process are transported from one operation to the next, and scrap is taken away. Processing and packaging require even more conveyance and all this requires our Design Engineers to first examine the application to understand the customer’s requirements, applications and conveyance objectives.

 

• Is the processor trying to gently convey delicate product, or is there a heavy, robust item to move from one operation to another?
• Does the application require high or low friction chain to successfully transport?
• Are there any special abrasive or load characteristics in the application?
• Conveyor chain speeds, application temperature, required chain life, impact resistance and other special considerations also play a critical role in Engineering the best systems possible.

Working closely with our partners, with hands-on working knowledge of our product development, implementation and maintenance of projects from initiation through completion, our Engineers design, engineer, manufacture, install, and support the conveyance and sortation applications – the end result, Engineering successful solutions!

Engineering the Future

At Span Tech we believe that one of the keys to our continued success is investing in the development of our Engineering talent. We partner with and utilize educational programs and relationships early on with budding talent.  We contribute to the education of youth as early as Elementary throughout High School, and University as well as Technical School programs that can lead into Span Tech Internships and long term career employment. This ‘pay it forward’ thinking not only supports and contributes to the future of Engineering – it keeps Span Tech current and continually growing to better meet the needs of our Partners.

Here’s a few of the local programs we are part of:

Western Kentucky Industrial Partnership

Barren County High School | Stem Program (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

Barren County High School | Engineering Advisory Board | CTE  (Career Technology Education Facility)

Span Tech offers the most innovative, flexible Modular Design and technology on the market. Providing the lowest total cost of ownership versus all other conveyor types. 

‘Our innovative Modular family of conveyors was developed so designers can make up virtually any layout they want’ – Bud Layne Owner / CEO.

Modular, rebuildable chain components mean incredibly easy fixes on your line. Sometimes requiring no special disassembly of the components other than the chain itself.  Since there is no tensioner or catenary to deal with, repairing chain links on a modular chain system is incredibly fast and inexpensive.

Our patented, durable Modular Designs not only set the industry standard for quality and innovation but also provides quiet operation and easy cleaning solutions adaptable to many product applications and industries.

Span Tech is the only plastic conveyance system that is a single integrated design by one manufacturer. With other company’s conveyors, each time the product has to change direction, a new conveyor is needed.  This is not the case with our Modular Designed systems.  Long runs of the conveyor which contain straight sections, horizontal bends, vertical inclines/declines, and even helical curves are all possible in a single conveyor solution.

We observe the laws of symmetrical design; where a left-hand part is interchangeable with a right-hand part. With a reasonably low number of parts, we can make a very wide variation of conveyors. This lowers the investment costs and increases your field flexibility.

 

Span Tech Modular Design Engineering Principles:

-Symmetrical “Square Matrix” part design, versus a staggered pattern, is used whenever possible.

-“Copy Exact” design principle, reduces complexity in manufacturing and assembly. If a replacement part is needed years from now, the replacement will fit perfectly and perform to the same standards.

– Carefully selected and tested, high tolerance molded materials and machined parts for optimal performance. We monitor our conveyor assembly process to stay within prescribed limits, resulting in a conveyor that has a tremendously long life in the field that runs year after year, with very few parts and very low service level.

Span Tech Modular Design Components:

-Chain / Links – Because of the geometry of our chain links, we can create one of the strongest, tightest turning radii in the market. The conveyor chain itself is made up of chain-link modules just like a mosaic or Lego system. Our chain unzips easily for direct chain replacement – change pitch with a change of chain pattern or remove slack by simply pulling a single rod making changes easier with less downtime. Open design with captured side frame eliminates catenary. Add, swap, extend, expand or change the pattern of chain/sections in less time, by simply removing a rod.

-Rod – the hinge component connecting our modular links, creating our conveyor chain. All rods are precision milled identical day to day and years later a replacement will fit “exactly”.

-Drive & Idler Sprockets – Our conveyors are positively driven and tracked by plastic sprockets, eliminating slippage, preventing damage to the conveyor’s edge and the potential for product contamination or premature failure. Our conveyor drive and sprockets are designed to be interchangeable pieces providing ease of maintenance and production line flexibility.

Span Tech Modular Chain Types:

-SuperTight

-PillowTop

-MaxiSpan

-MonoSpan

-MiniLink

-J-Trax

 

Span Tech Modular Conveyors:

 

-Outrunner Spiral:

Continuous curving inclining or declining conveyor used in a minimal amount of floor space, to move product for extended dwell times or buffer in the event a downstream process stops working. Span Tech’s design is a unique ‘twist’ on standard technology – ours drives the spiral from the outside with a series of sprockets, reducing the complexity of the design and overall cost. Providing load flexibility, speeds, and incline /decline angles.

 

-Topper Lift:

We’ve taken a second conveyor over the top of the first conveyor that hangs freely on the top conveyor. This top chain comes into contact with the product and applies enough force to the product to keep it from sliding backward on the bottom conveyor, achieving the highest incline angles in the market. Allowing more shapes and sizes even in a continuous production run.

 

-High-Speed Switch:

Basically a flow diverter. Takes a single input of product and diverts to multiple output lanes at very high rates of speed.

 

-Helical Curve:

Incorporates both vertical and horizontal directional changes using a single conveyor and gear motor to power and achieve the same Point A to Point B destination as well as produce product transitions, without using multiple conveyors.

It’s amazing how pieces of our systems fit within one another and can be switched around and still work for ultimate convenience and customization. With Span Tech’s innovative Modular Designed products, there is no limit to what can be accomplished.

Continue reading “Custom Modular Conveyor Solutions” →

Quality is important to us, because our customers are important to us.  As is generally the case with any organization, our customers are the single most important part of our business, without them we wouldn’t exist.

Customers expect you to deliver quality products and services.  We work to continuously improve our understanding of their requirements and expectations and provide them with the highest quality products and services that are defect/error free.  We strive to provide for our customers in a way that not only meets their expectations, but far exceeds them.  By doing this, we help to maintain customer satisfaction and retain their loyalty so they will continue to do business with us in the future.  By building a strong reputation for quality and creating these long term relationships with our customers, Quality makes an important contribution to long term revenue and profitability.

 

An effective Quality program can help keep costs down while poor quality can increase costs.  If an effective program is not in place, costs can be incurred from analyzing nonconforming products or services to determine the root causes of failure or defects.  Increased costs can also come from having to rework or repair defective products, by scrapping material and using extra material, labor and the associated shipping costs to fix issues.  Even higher costs can be incurred if customer service trips on-site are required to fix or replace faulty products. But, the highest cost in many cases would be losing the faith or trust of a customer or multiple customers due to poor quality, so creating and managing a strong quality program is crucial to helping our customers and us be successful.

This video shows some of the innovations that make up our quality products.

At Span Tech, our quality program is a dynamic system that is primarily customer focused (both external and internal) and is designed with an emphasis on prevention.  Some of the principals we use are;

 

• Customer Focus
• Leadership
• Training – Developing employee skills and abilities
• Manufacturing capability and the appropriate application of technology
• Supplier performance and conformance
• Continual process improvement – productivity and efficiency

We all see quality as a shared responsibility.  We believe that quality applies to every department and every employee in everything we do.  Our goal is to build in quality rather than attempting to inspect defects and errors out.

Read some of our customers testimonials here.

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