SPI makes big move ‌ and cuts power costs Team achieve better â€˜ďŹ‚ow’ at larger premises SPECIALISED Plastics Industries (SPI) of Cape Town has moved to bigger premises Charles Retief (centre) and SPI’s management team – Roy Retief and production manager Danie Maritz – at the company’s new premises in Capricorn Park, Cape Town; the far larger 2600m² ‌ and managed to cut power costs! production area is set on a 4800m² site SPI had effectively out-grown its premises in Retreat and, since it could no longer it has installed a series of variable speed drives that match production deliver the service which its expanding current demand, and only run at optimum when the plant is at full output. clientele required, was virtually obligated to move to the far Fundamentally, the improved plant layout also saves costs, with the larger 4800m² site at nearby Capricorn Business Park. Charles ow being a case of materials being ďŹ rst-in, followed by the successive Retief and his team put all the experience and technical steps of moulding, processing or assembly, printing and packing followed abilities assembled over more than three decades into the by storage or dispatch. operation. But the SPI team has thrived in the move and now, in place of the Designing the ideal plant layout is the ultimate career cramped conditions they faced daily before, work in a far more spacious achievement for many of the individuals running manufacturing and ‘logical’ environment. businesses (it can literally be the difference between a Congratulations to Charles Retief and the SPI team! happy result and on-going frustration). Charles, one of the most analytical injection moulding specialists in the Western • SPI, PHONE 021 701 3521 Cape and a man who has not shied away from challenging convention or unproďŹ table strategies, has managed to implement a carefully planned strategy. www.specialisedplasticindustries.com SPI operates over 20 injection and blow machines and the JUNE / JULY 2013 ďŹ rst undertaking was to keep machines running during the move, in order to provide uninterrupted supply, so it had to operate both plants during the move. Most of the small and medium size machines were back in operation less than 24hrs after being moved. SPI also operates Cape Mould Services, one of the top toolrooms in the Cape region, and all CMS’s tool manufacturing and design equipment went with, making the move an even more serious undertaking. THIS IS WHAT THE ENERGY AND MATERIAL EFFICIENT PRODUCTION OF THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE Then, besides the big challenge of setting up a plant conďŹ guration where the â€˜ďŹ‚ow’ is efďŹ cient, the SPI team also The DESMA S3 generation now also available with the innovation ZeroWaste ITM for an article production without losses and other technical features setting standards: wanted to achieve a reduction in electricity usage and, particularly, better performance from its chillers. To this end, t &BTF PG PQFSBUJPO UISPVHI JOUVJUJWF t 4BGF GFFEJOH PG NBUFSJBM TUSJQT PG
THE NEW BENCHMARK S3
user prompting by way of 19“-haptictouch display of the DRC 2020 HT control system
Dennis Hansen with a ‘bird spike’ moulding produced at SPI. This is an unusual component, with long, narrow ow lines
SPI has installed sophisticated equipment to achieve efďŹ cient cooling, and hence saving costs on power consumption
t )JHIFS BWBJMBCJMJUZ BMTP UIBOLT UP UIF injection unit FIFO-Advanced t &OFSHZ TBWJOH ESJWF BOE SFEVDFE noise emission by means of the hydraulic system ServoGear
larger dimensions with the feed roller ActiveFeed t 3BJTFE JOKFDUJPO BDDVSBDZ CZ UIF non-return valve PlastControl t &GGFDUJWF DVSF UJNF SFEVDUJPO UISPVHI the patented nozzle technology FlowControl+
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