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Mosca Side-Seals Keep Pace in Cabinet Manufacturing Facility

New System to be Exhibited at AWFS 2017

We recently had an opportunity to visit a nationally known and respected kitchen and bath cabinet manufacturer’s expansive manufacturing facilities on the East Coast – one of several spanning the breadth of the U.S. The company manufactures and distributes modular kitchen cabinets and vanities to remodelers and new home construction markets. The company offers over 500 cabinet styles – classic, transition and contemporary. The KCMA certified cabinets are sold through a nationwide network of homebuilders, independent dealers and distributors, as well as at some big box stores.

The plant engineer led a tour of the clean, well-lit and organized facility. In August of 2016, the facility was shipping 4,800 cabinets a day, a bit down from the 5,300 shipped earlier in the year. The high volume is manageable with approximately 500 hourly employees and about 50 salaried personnel working a 24 hour/5 day workweek.

The operation has five assembly lines fed by seven production cells, each of which fill four to five tractor trailers per day. The pace is steady. And relentless. As the finished cabinets appear at the end of the production line, they are draped with protective foam cushioning, fitted with corrugated sleeves and then tied together by Mosca Model ROMS-4/1 side-seal strapping machines with 1250 mm (49.2”) wide x 1800 mm (70.9”) high strap feed tracks and 12mm wide x .5mm thick polypropylene strapping. The lines are a mix of operator cycled strappers, and fully automated lines. The Mosca strapping systems are adaptable for either process. Each carton is tagged and scanned prior to being loaded into a waiting trailer.

The operation hasn’t always run so smoothly. Prior to purchasing the Mosca equipment, the plant was working with a fleet of older competitor machines whose reliability was flagging, negatively impacting plant productivity and costs. EAM-Mosca, was branching out from its legacy markets of graphic arts, corrugated and mailing services with its new Engineered Solutions Division, and was eager to move more aggressively into the cabinet and doors industry. Mosca was quick to offer a no-charge demo when approached by plant engineering personnel.

The demo, which began in early 2014, with a new Mosca strapper specified to meet the operation’s requirements, went positively for all concerned. Plant technical, maintenance and operation personnel were all impressed with the equipment’s technology, including its simple DC brushless direct drives and precision closed track. The machine was quickly understood and its reliability and consistent tension control resulted in smooth operation and neat secure packages. This was all the more impressive given the variations in size and shape of the cabinet products. The plant purchased the demo machine later in 2014.

Over the next year, five more of the same model strappers were purchased and installed and all have duplicated the early success. With each production line requiring approximately a half million straps to be applied per year, all machines have been given a fair test, passing muster on all counts according to the plant’s engineer.

Since the installation, Mosca has introduced the ROMS-6 series of side seal strappers, which include its proprietary Sonixs sealing technology, even simpler mechanics and reduced maintenance with its Evolution sealing head. A larger strap accumulator for large arch machines provides even higher feed reliability than the earlier generation. These advances deliver the potential of an even more notable success in this demanding packaging application.

The new ROMS-6 Series includes 10 standard arch sizes outfitted with the high efficiency Mosca closed arch system. It is the preferred solution for even lightweight straps in widths as narrow as 5mm. Track sizes range from 650 mm (25.6”) wide x 600mm (23.6”) high to 1650mm (65”) wide x 1800mm (70.9”) high. Available with either Sonixs or Heat Seal Standard 6 strapping heads; and a narrow sealer (Heat Seal only) for product as low as 2.6” v.s. 4” with standard sealers. The Sonixs versions can also work with Polyester strapping, which retains tension and resists elongation better than the more commonly used Polypropylene strapping. This unique Mosca feature can be a distinct advantage when securing heavier and less stable products or when raw material costs swing, affecting strap pricing.

In addition to the ROMS-6 machines, for larger products, Mosca also offers the UHS and USI side-seal machines with a powerful Sonixs strapping head that operates reliably with PET or PP strapping in widths of 9mm to 12mm. The two units are available with modular strap tracks in 250mm increments which can go up to 2900mm high and 2750mm wide. The USI adds pallet lance capability and includes an indexing head that moves up to 18” to meet incoming loads allowing for flexibility in product positioning on the conveyor while assuring tight straps.

With a solid success to date and the even greater reliability and flexibility that ROMS-6 brings for future requirements, EAM-Mosca anticipates a long and mutually productive relationship with this manufacturer and other production minded cabinet producers. No doubt, a no-charge demo will be the door opener for future opportunities as it was here.

EAM-Mosca Corporation provides high-performance strapping system solutions to a variety of industries, including food, graphic arts, mailing, fulfillment, logistics, corrugated, wood, and other industrial or consumer goods. We combine innovative equipment with strapping materials manufactured to maximize machine performance and customer support programs that help our customers meet their performance and productivity goals.

To learn more about any of EAM-Mosca’s other productivity enhancing strapping systems, please call us at 800-456-3420, or email us at info@www.eammosca.com. You can also connect with EAM-Mosca on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/EAMMoscaCorp), Twitter (www.twitter.com/EAMMoscaCorp), and Facebook and LinkedIn via the links above.

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