TRSA Tours Germany: Final Day – Advanced Automation

TRSA wrapped up its European Laundry Tour of German facilities on June 17 with a morning visit to a mat-processing facility in Grobenzell. The group got a chance to see how the laundry operation put automation in place to save on labor costs and run with a greater level of efficiency.

 

Executives from the family-owned company Schafer Matten GmbH & Co. immediately greeted the TRSA tour group of more than 30 textile services executives and gave them a brief history of the company, which started in 1987. After Barbara Schafer gave a background on the laundry, and introduced the tour group to her two sons who are now working in the business, tour attendees took a deeper look at the equipment in place in the facility. 

 

The wash aisle features a Kannegiesser conveyor system that weighs mats as they are placed on the belt by a Schafer production staff member. Once the mats reach their target weight, they move up to one of two Kannegiesser 660 lb. washer/extractors (300 kilos) loaded to 900 lbs (408 kilos) This overloading by the rated weight is possible because the mats are very dense in weight as opposed to textiles. The washer/extractors tilt upward and the door on the machine opens to take in the mats for the wash cycle.

 

After the wash process is completed, the mats move via a conveyor to one of two Kannegiesser dryers. After the dryer finishes its cycle, another conveyor transports the clean mats to an area separated from the wash floor by a wall, where they're prepared for delivery. On the opposite side of this wall is an Inwatec machine that rolls and bands mats. The operator of this machine places the mat flat on the machine and it comes out rolled, then makes its way to a banding machine that places a band around the mat to keep its shape.

 

The mats, which are all chipped, are then transported via a belt to an Inwatec storage and sorting machine that moves certain mats to a storage area behind the wall for future use, while other mats roll further down the belt, are lifted in the air and dropped into a cart for route delivery.

 

After the facility tour concluded, the attendees got a chance to discuss the equipment and the operation with Schafer executives over coffee and breakfast in the plant. Later in the day, the TRSA European Laundry Tour of Germany ended with a closing reception at the Hilton Munich City.