Shown: the finished lines in New YorkA Cross-Country Line Move and Two New Photo Paper Packaging Lines
A specialty photo paper converter bought a competitor's packaging equipment in Colorado. Han-Tek moved it to New York, rebuilt it, and designed and built two new packaging lines alongside it.
A specialty photo paper converter in Upstate New York bought a departing competitor's paper converting and packaging equipment in Colorado, along with its backlog of orders. It also needed two new packaging lines to grow capacity.
Han-Tek acted as the single-source general contractor. It managed the rigging, trucking and plant preparation, moved the equipment floor to floor in under four months, and redesigned the relocated line around ergonomic packing stations. At the same time, Han-Tek designed and built a Surge Line for short runs and custom sizes and a Photo Card Line for the top-selling formats.
A line across the country, and two more to build
When a major imaging company left the paper business, this converter took over its packaging equipment and its customer backlog. The equipment had to get from Colorado to New York and back into production fast.
Many vendors, one move
Rigging crews, trucking, building contractors and equipment suppliers all had to work to one schedule.
A plant to prepare
The New York plant needed floor and structural upgrades to carry the weight of the incoming equipment.
Old packing machines
The original line used packing machines that needed constant maintenance and were often down.
The goal: move the line with as little downtime as possible, make it better on arrival, and add two new lines at the same time.
One contractor for the move and both new lines
With one Han-Tek project manager coordinating every vendor, the customer made one call for any part of the job. Here is how the paper moves through the finished lines.
- 1
Cut and count
Paper is slit and cut from master rolls to sheet size, then checkweighed so every stack has the right count.
- 2
Pack by hand, comfortably
Operators pack the stacks at ergonomic work stations, drawing from two infeed lanes and sending finished packs out on a third level.
- 3
Finish automatically
Packages are laser coded, shrink wrapped, case packed by robot, labeled, palletized and stretch wrapped.
- Floor to floor: disassembly in Colorado and installation in New York were timed so equipment never sat in a staging warehouse.
- Plant ready on arrival: Han-Tek managed the floor and structural upgrades the New York plant needed for the equipment.
- Relocated line, redesigned: the line was laid out for the new space, the maintenance-heavy packing machines were replaced with ergonomic stations, and the PLC programming was updated to tie old and new equipment together.
- Surge Line: built for short-run sample packs and custom sizes such as 11x17 and 13x19 that do not pay to run on the main lines.
- Photo Card Line: built only for 4x6 and 5x7, the most popular formats, to get the most throughput from them.
Three lines running, and a customer who came back
| Line | What it runs | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Relocated line | 8.5x11 products, redesigned with ergonomic packing stations | Back in production in under four months |
| Surge Line | Short runs, samples and custom sizes such as 11x17 and 13x19 | 10,000 to 12,000 packages per shift |
| Photo Card Line | 4x6 and 5x7 formats | 18,000 to 20,000 packages per shift |
| Whole plant | All packaged photo paper | 50,000 to 60,000 packages a day |
- One call for everything: Han-Tek took on warranties for all the new equipment, so the customer had one contact for questions and service.
- Staff stayed on production: with Han-Tek managing every vendor, the customer's people could keep running the plant.
- A clean handoff in Colorado: the Colorado site signed off the removal as complete, noting Han-Tek's crews were a pleasure to work with.
- Fewer repetitive-motion strains: the ergonomic stations replaced packing machines that were often down for maintenance.
- A second move: in 2013 the customer hired Han-Tek again to move five more production lines and their HVAC units from a plant in Virginia to New York.
Questions about relocating production lines
Can Han-Tek manage a whole equipment relocation?
Yes. Here Han-Tek was the general contractor for rigging, trucking, plant preparation, reinstallation and start-up, with one project manager coordinating every vendor.
Do you need a staging warehouse to move a line?
Not always. On this move, work at both plants was timed so the equipment went straight from one floor to the other, saving extra handling and time.
Can a relocated line be improved during the move?
Yes. This line was redesigned to fit the new plant, its unreliable packing machines were replaced with ergonomic stations, and its controls were updated.
Why build a separate line for short runs?
Short runs and odd sizes slow down high-volume lines. A dedicated Surge Line handles them so the main lines can stay on the big runs.
More packaging and end-of-line projects
Make one call.
Tell us what you are moving and where. A Han-Tek engineer will plan the move, the upgrades and the start-up.
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