Representative imageFDA-Compliant Preform Conveyors That Cut Fork Truck Labor 70%
A PET packaging plant replaced gaylords, storage and fork trucks with overhead conveyors that carry preforms straight from injection molding to blow molding, with automatic gaylord filling as the backup.
A leading PET packaging manufacturer made preforms on injection molders and dropped them into gaylords. Fork trucks hauled the full gaylords to storage, then hauled them back to the blow molders days later.
Han-Tek built overhead conveyors that carry preforms straight from injection molding to blow molding at a slow, programmable speed for even cooling. When a blow molder is full or down, the system switches automatically to a Han-Tek gaylord filling cell, so molding never has to stop. Every surface that touches the product is stainless steel or FDA approved. The plant needed 70% fewer fork truck operators and reached breakeven within 12 months.
Every preform took a fork truck ride to storage and back
Preforms are the small plastic tubes a blow molder turns into bottles. At this plant, every preform dropped into a gaylord at the injection molder. Workers tracked each gaylord and supplied covers, and fork trucks moved the full gaylords to storage, then back to blow molding later.
Double handling
Filling, covering, storing and moving gaylords took a lot of labor, floor space and fork trucks.
Defects found days later
A problem at injection molding might not show up until the gaylord came out of storage. Uneven cooling also caused trouble at blow molding.
FDA and a 12-month payback
Every product contact surface had to meet FDA requirements for food and beverage packaging, and the system had to pay back within 12 months.
The goal: move preforms straight to blow molding, keep molding running when a blow molder stops, and pay back within a year.
Overhead conveyors, with gaylords only as a backup
Han-Tek connected each injection molder to its blow molder with an overhead conveyor and kept a gaylord filling cell at the molder for backup. Here is how preforms move.
- 1
Climb and convey
Preforms leave the injection molder, climb a 60° cleated incline and ride ceiling-hung conveyors to the blow molder at a slow, programmable speed for even cooling.
- 2
Watch the level
The controls track preforms leaving molding, and sensors watch the level at the blow molder. When it is full, the overhead stops and preforms go to a gaylord. When it runs low, the overhead starts again.
- 3
Fill gaylords unattended
The gaylord filling cell counts preforms into each gaylord and moves to the next station when one is full, so injection molding keeps running.
- FDA-approved contact surfaces: 304 stainless steel chutes, FDA white powder-coated side boards, food-grade plastic belting and domed polycarbonate covers keep preforms clean.
- Overhead, not on the floor: ceiling-hung conveyors keep the production floor open and accessible.
- A selector at every blow molder: operators choose Sidel, Off or Gaylord, and the system routes preforms to match.
- 5-station gaylord cells: pneumatic plows divert preforms to chutes along the conveyor, and reversing the belt reaches the station at the infeed end.
- Counts on screen: each cell shows the preform count and status of every gaylord, and production data is shared with the plant network.
Fewer fork trucks, faster feedback, payback in a year
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Getting preforms to blow molding | Gaylords, storage and fork trucks | Overhead conveyor, direct |
| Fork truck operators | Baseline | 70% fewer needed |
| Time to blow molding | Days in storage | Within 20 minutes |
| When a blow molder stops | Gaylords handled by hand | Automatic switch to gaylord filling |
| Payback | Required within 12 months | Breakeven within 12 months |
- Less scuffing: preforms move once, on a conveyor, instead of being dumped, stored and handled again.
- Problems caught fast: with preforms at blow molding within 20 minutes, molding defects are found right away and waste goes down.
- Less storage: gaylords became a backup instead of the main path, saving space, time and handling.
- Built to last: the plant's earlier gaylord-filling conveyors typically lasted two to four years. Han-Tek's heavier-duty design was built to last about three times as long.
- Two decades of repeat work: after the first overhead line in 1999, the plant came back for more lines, line merges and gaylord filling cells, most recently two 5-station cells in 2021 and 2022.
Blow molder set to Sidel and not full: preforms go overhead. Blow molder full: the overhead stops and preforms go to a gaylord at the molder. Level drops: preforms go overhead again. Set to Gaylord: preforms fill gaylords and the overhead empties.
Questions about preform conveyors
What makes a preform conveyor FDA compliant?
Every surface that touches the product is stainless steel or an FDA-approved material. Here that meant stainless steel chutes, FDA white powder coating, food-grade plastic belting and domed covers to keep preforms clean.
What happens when a blow molder goes down?
Sensors see the blow molder is full, the overhead conveyor stops and preforms switch to a gaylord filling cell at the injection molder. Molding keeps running, and the overhead restarts when the level drops.
Why run preform conveyors overhead?
Ceiling-hung conveyors keep the production floor open for people, fork trucks and maintenance access.
Why move preforms slowly?
A slow, programmable conveyor speed lets preforms cool evenly before blow molding, which helps the blow molding process run consistently.
More conveyor and packaging projects
Put them on a conveyor.
Tell us how preforms reach your blow molders today. A Han-Tek engineer will tell you what overhead conveyors and gaylord filling cells could do.
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