Tommy is one of the leading Croatian retail chains with 206 points of sale, where over 200 000 loyal customers shop on a daily basis. Tommy has recently invested in a new effective waste management solution, Orwak balers for sorting and compaction of recyclables.
It is impressive to be one of the biggest food retail chains in Croatia and the largest company and employer in Dalmatia and South Croatia. Tommy is continuously growing and developing and operates more than 200 stores in different sizes from “supermarket”, the local convenience stores in residential areas and cities, to “hipermarket”, the megastores for the weekly grocery shopping.
Cardboard volumes were a challenge
To handle all the empty packaging material, mainly cardboard, from the constant goods deliveries was a big challenge and in spring 2018, Tommy signed a contract with Interseroh, environmental service provider and Orwak distributor in Croatia, for a new effective waste management solution for the stores.
New waste management solution
The following months, more than 70 Orwak balers have already been delivered to Tommy stores. The high capacity yet low-built Orwak baler POWER 3420 with several modern features is ideal for the big stores, which deal with really large volumes of cardboard.
Compact design crucial
The best selection for the smaller stores with limited ceiling height is the COMPACT family – the smallest balers in the Orwak range. The newest addition, model 3120 is the most popular choice among these stores. It has a convenient compact design and low height and yet offers a wide loading gate and produces a bale weight in line with what the recycler prefers to pick up. Compact machine design is essential at sites, where the baler will be installed at the second floor and needs to fit into an elevator to get there.
Big balers at the warehouses
In addition, Tommy uses the toughest Orwak baler, POWER 3620, at the three central warehouses to compact huge volumes of cardboard and plastic foil.
Less manual labor, more efficiency
Before the investment in the Orwak balers, some stores used press containers out back, but most of the stores throw the cardboard in 1100 L bins. As there was no compaction, the bins filled up quickly and the staff had to put in a lot of time and energy to squeeze in more cardboard in the bins.
Tommy is happy with the new Orwak baler solution and the advice and service from Interseroh. The most evident advantages are the increased efficiency and the improved working environment; much less manual labor; less time spent on cutting and folding boxes.
Automatic sliding door
The POWER balers are equipped with automatic sliding doors, so that the door is always open when the staff returns with more cardboard and the aperture is at an ergonomic height for loading the material.
More space, more recycling
Furthermore, replacing the 1100 L bins with one baler and a neat pile of bales saves a lot of value storage space, which is important for the stores located in the city center and with the new solution, the cardboard balers from the Tommy stores will be recycled, which contributes to a sustainable business.