Renowned by customers for its speed of service and efficiency, Chums wanted to increase its daily throughput of parcels from 3,500 to 9,000 to meet growing peak demands and future growth capacity without adding additional labour.
Its original post code sorting system had performed well but could not sort courier parcels automatically, and needed to be halted each time a full container was changed or when Royal Mail containers were collected.
Welconstruct designed, supplied and installed for Chums a new 13-lane drop-belt sorting machine which handles a parcel every 2.5 seconds, a number of conveyors to feed the machine from the existing packing line and the associated
automatic control and monitoring systems. Graham Rubin, managing director of Chums, says: “In addition to increasing capacity, a key contractual requirement was to disrupt Chums’ output as little as possible during the site work. Welconstruct approached the installation in such a way that it did not occupy excessive warehouse space and our operation was not compromised.
“Welconstruct assembled and tested the new sorting machine, using live product, in a temporary position. Once tested, the old sorting conveyor was removed and the new machine repositioned and fully commissioned over one weekend.”
Simon Wilkins, Welconstruct’s project manager, adds: “The new system, which contains innovative luffing belt technology, more than meets Chums’ requirements but at a much lower cost than other high speed sorting methods, such as tilt-tray. In addition, the system can handle a wide range of parcels from letter-sized up to 750x500mm.
“Advantages of the new system also include the ability to change the Royal Mail York roll containers when full without stopping the sorting line, and, because it has similar controls and PC interface, there is no need for extensive training or personnel familiarisation.”
