AES helped Seaboard Folding Box improve scrap handling efficiency with an automated scrap removal system and fresh air make-up system designed to reduce labor, improve production throughput, support grade segregation, lower energy costs, and provide capacity for future growth.
Overview
Seaboard Folding Box Company is a full-service folding carton manufacturer located in Westminster, Massachusetts. The company is known for responsive service, high-quality folding cartons, and extensive design, pre-press, printing, and finishing capabilities.
As Seaboard planned an expansion into a new facility, its existing scrap system was struggling to keep up with production. The system was overloaded, labor intensive, and unable to support the company’s long-term production goals. AES was selected to provide a turnkey automated scrap removal solution that would improve efficiency, reduce operating costs, and create room for future equipment lines.
What problem did AES solve?
Seaboard needed a scrap removal system that could support high-speed folding carton production while reducing labor requirements, improving bale quality, and increasing system capacity.
AES designed and installed a turnkey automated scrap removal system with twin cyclone collectors, ducting, divert valves, fans, support structures, and a fresh air intake system. The solution also included energy-efficient motor controls and grade segregation features to help improve ROI.
Scope of Work
- System Design & Engineering
- Equipment Selection & Integration
- Twin Cyclone Collectors
- Pneumatic Conveyance Ducting
- Divert Valves
- Material Handling Fans
- Support Structures
- Fresh Air Intake System
- Fabrication, Rigging & Installation
- System Start-Up, Commissioning & Training
The Challenge
Seaboard’s old scrap system was overloaded and labor intensive, making it difficult to keep pace with production demands. As the company prepared to move into a new facility, it needed a more efficient scrap removal system that could support increased capacity and reduce labor costs.
The new building would include a fully conditioned production floor, which made energy efficiency a major concern. Seaboard also needed to improve bale quality, support grade segregation, and add capacity for future equipment lines.
The main challenges we had to address:
- The existing scrap system was overloaded and labor intensive.
- High-speed die cutters needed reliable scrap removal to operate at full capacity.
- The new conditioned production floor required better energy efficiency.
- Heat loss from the old system created costly heating and cooling issues.
- Bale quality and grade segregation needed to be improved.
- The system needed redundancy and capacity for future equipment growth.
AES needed to provide a complete turnkey system that combined automated scrap removal, fresh air make-up, energy-efficient controls, grade segregation, fabrication, installation, startup, commissioning, and training into one coordinated solution.
The AES Solution
AES designed and installed an automated scrap removal system that gave Seaboard the speed, reliability, and capacity needed to support its new facility. The system included twin cyclone collectors, associated ducting, divert valves, fans, support structures, and a fresh air intake system.
AES also incorporated a fresh air make-up system to avoid the need for an expensive dust filtration system while improving HVAC efficiency. Energy-efficient motor controls helped reduce monthly energy costs, while grade segregation features helped Seaboard maximize scrap revenue and improve overall project ROI.
AES System Components
The automated scrap removal system included:
- Twin cyclone collectors
- Pneumatic conveyance ducting
- Divert valves
- Material handling fans
- Support structures
- Fresh air intake system
- Fresh air make-up system
- Energy-efficient motor controls
- Grade segregation features
- Custom integrated scrap removal and conveyance layout
The completed system gave Seaboard a more efficient way to remove scrap from folding carton production while supporting higher throughput, reduced labor, and improved system reliability.
By combining automated scrap removal, fresh air make-up, energy-efficient controls, grade segregation, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and training, AES helped Seaboard improve production efficiency and reduce operating costs.
The Results
With the new automated scrap removal system and fresh air make-up system in place, Seaboard improved operational efficiency, reduced labor demands, and gained system redundancy with capacity for future growth.
The completed system also helped Seaboard reduce energy costs, earn a sizable utility rebate, avoid the upfront cost of an expensive dust filtration system, and increase production throughput.
Download the Full Case Study
Download the complete Seaboard Folding Box case study to see how AES designed and installed an automated scrap removal system with twin cyclone collectors, ducting, divert valves, fans, fresh air make-up, energy-efficient controls, grade segregation, fabrication, installation, and commissioning.
An Automated Scrap Removal System Built for Growth and Efficiency
This project shows how a properly engineered scrap removal system can support more than waste handling. For Seaboard Folding Box, AES helped improve production throughput, reduce labor requirements, lower energy costs, support grade segregation, and build in capacity for future equipment lines.
For folding carton manufacturers, packaging plants, printing operations, and other facilities handling high volumes of trim and scrap, AES designs custom systems around the real production environment, equipment layout, material grades, energy concerns, and long-term operating goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
An automated scrap removal system captures and conveys production scrap from manufacturing equipment to collection, separation, baling, or processing equipment with less manual handling.
Seaboard’s old scrap system was overloaded, labor intensive, and unable to support the company’s expansion into a new facility with increased production capacity.
The system included twin cyclone collectors, pneumatic conveyance ducting, divert valves, material handling fans, support structures, a fresh air intake system, fresh air make-up, energy-efficient motor controls, and grade segregation features.
The fresh air make-up system helped avoid the need for an expensive dust filtration system while improving HVAC efficiency and reducing heating and cooling costs.
Yes. AES designs and installs custom scrap removal, air conveyance, grade segregation, fresh air make-up, and turnkey installation systems for folding carton manufacturers, packaging plants, printers, and other production facilities.
