When this corrugated box company needed more production capacity to meet demand, they called us to help. The company planned an 80,000 sq ft expansion and a new high-speed corrugator, but the existing scrap collection system was already overloaded and could not support additional equipment.
Overview
Acme Corrugated Box Company is a corrugated box manufacturer located in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. Acme has been transforming carton manufacturing with its products and industry-leading design and development capabilities since 1918. Today, the company produces a large array of customizable products, including corrugated boxes, die-cut boxes, and displays.
The upgraded scrap handling system we were tasked to design had to increase capacity, work within limited floor space, remain under roof, integrate with existing equipment, and reduce the manual handling required when the old system went offline.
What problem did AES solve?
AES helped Acme Corrugated Box upgrade its scrap handling system as part of a major plant expansion. The new system included an under-roof AirShark separator, auto-tie baler, material handling fans, ducting, hogger, dedicated core shredder, second baler, and corrugator divert system. The result was higher scrap handling capacity, reduced downtime, improved cleanliness, less manual labor, and room for future expansion.
Scope of Work
- FEED & Project Management
- Dust Collectors with Explosion Venting
- Air Conveyance Ducting
- Material Handling Fans
- Flame & Spark Detection & Extinguishing System
- Welding & Fabrication
- Mechanical Installation
- Electrical Installation
- System Start-Up, Commissioning & Training
The Challenge
As demand increased, the company needed to expand its Hatboro plant and add new production capabilities.
The existing scrap collection system was already overloaded, which made it difficult to add more production equipment. Acme also wanted the upgraded system to remain under roof to improve plant appearance and reduce environmental and neighborhood impact.
The main challenges we had to address:
- The existing scrap system was handling more volume than it was designed for.
- New production equipment had to integrate with existing scrap handling equipment.
- Floor space was limited because most of the plant footprint was dedicated to production.
- The upgraded system needed to support a high-speed corrugator.
- Manual scrap handling had become inefficient when the old system was offline.
When the previous system was down, corrugator scrap had to be diverted to a temporary holding area and later hand-loaded into the baler. That process added labor, cost, and inefficiency to the operation.
The AES Solution
AES designed and installed a complete turnkey scrap handling system upgrade to support Acme’s added production capacity.
The new system included a 64,000 CFM AES AirShark™ Separator mounted under roof, along with material handling fans, ducting, a hogger, a dedicated core shredder, and a new auto-tie baler. The dedicated core shredder helped reduce the load on the hogger, improving equipment life and reducing maintenance demands.
AES also designed redundancy into the system by adding a second baler and a corrugator divert system. This helped maintain the continuous flow of scrap and removed the manual labor step required by the previous setup.
AES System Components
The upgraded scrap handling system included:
- 64,000 CFM AES AirShark™ Separator
- Under-roof separator installation
- Material handling fans
- Scrap handling ductwork
- Auto-tie baler
- Second baler for redundancy
- Hogger
- Dedicated core shredder
- Corrugator divert system
- Custom integrated air and mechanical conveyance layouts
The AES AirShark™ Separator gave Acme the air handling capacity needed for the expanded plant while fitting within the under-roof system design.
Its small footprint and high-capacity performance allowed AES to improve scrap separation without creating an outdoor equipment layout. This helped Acme increase efficiency, reduce maintenance, improve facility aesthetics, and minimize outside impact around the plant.
The Results
With the newly upgraded scrap handling system in place, Acme Corrugated Box gained the capacity needed to support its expanded facility and new high-speed corrugator.
The new system also reduced the need for manual scrap handling and was designed to accommodate future growth, giving Acme the ability to add more equipment as production needs continue to change.
Download the Full Case Study
Download the Acme Corrugated Box case study to see how AES upgraded a corrugated scrap handling system with an under-roof AirShark™ Separator, balers, fans, ducting, and built-in redundancy.
A Turnkey System Upgrade Built for Growth, Not Just Today’s Scrap Volume
This project shows how a properly engineered scrap handling system can support more than waste removal. For Acme Corrugated Box, the upgraded system helped remove a production bottleneck, support a major facility expansion, and create a cleaner, more efficient path for future growth.
For corrugated packaging plants, folding carton manufacturers, and other facilities handling high volumes of trim, scrap, and byproduct material, AES designs custom systems around the real production environment, available space, equipment layout, and long-term operating goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
A corrugated scrap handling system collects, conveys, separates, and processes trim waste, corrugator scrap, cores, and other byproducts created during packaging production. These systems often include ductwork, fans, separators, shredders, hoggers, balers, and controls designed around the plant’s equipment layout.
Acme was expanding its Hatboro, Pennsylvania facility and adding a new high-speed corrugator. Its existing scrap collection system was already overloaded, so AES designed an upgraded system that could handle higher scrap volume while supporting future production growth.
The upgraded system included a 64,000 CFM AES AirShark™ Separator, material handling fans, ducting, a hogger, dedicated core shredder, auto-tie baler, second baler, and corrugator divert system.
The under-roof installation helped Acme improve plant aesthetics, reduce outside environmental and neighborhood impact, and keep the scrap handling system within the facility footprint while still supporting high-volume air and material separation.
Yes. AES designs custom scrap handling systems around existing equipment, available floor space, production goals, and future expansion plans. Systems can be built to integrate with current machinery while adding capacity, redundancy, and better material flow.
