Since the Japanese wholesaler Trusco Nakayama installed the high-capacity Orwak baler 3820, it has dramatically reduced waste handling costs while also improving the working environment in the huge Planet Osaka logistics center.
Trusco Nakayama Corporation, well known for the “Trusco Orange Book,” a catalog listing more than 610,000 items, is a major supplier of professional tools and materials to the manufacturing industry in Japan. The company’s strength is its extensive product selection and huge inventory. With a policy of “holding inventory” of its broad product range, it quickly responds to all customer needs and also engages in B2B sales to competitors.
20 tons of cardboard waste
However, behind the scenes, a great deal of cardboard boxes used as packaging for incoming products are generated. Planet Osaka in Sakai City is a logistics hub with one of the largest inbound and outbound volumes. Previously, it was required to manually handle and dispose of approximately 20 tons of cardboard boxes per month, but at surges it can be up to 1 ton per day. The amount of cardboard waste is particularly high (300 kg) in Zone A on the first floor, where goods are received, and it created the following problems:
- Space restriction: Occupied the space of three cage carts
- Time consumption: Manual volume reduction by hand and foot took about 20 minutes by two employees
- Inefficient internal logistics: Long distance from Zone A to the cardboard collection area at the other end of the center.
Orwak Japan made Trusco Nakayama a proposal for a POWER 3820 baler to achieve a more effective and profitable waste solution. This model comes with an extra wide loading gate (1500 mm) allowing for effortless loading regardless of the size of the boxes.
In addition, compaction starts automatically when the sliding door is closed, and the baler is easy to operate and only requires pressing two buttons to eject the bale. There is a video of the operation procedure that can be accessed from a smartphone, so any employee can easily use it. Masafumi Iwaki, Center Director of Planet Osaka, comments: “To be honest, I was skeptical about whether it would really be effective. However, we thought it was worth trying new technology, and we decided to introduce it on trial.”
Improved space, time and efficiency
The effects of introducing the Orwak baler in Planet Osaka’s A Zone exceeded the expectations and dramatically increased the efficiency:
- Storage space reduced by 30 %: 3 cage carts → 1 baler
More productive use of the storage space! - Processing time reduced by 75 %: Approx. 40 minutes (20 minutes x 2 employees) → Approx. 10 minutes x 1 person
More receiving and shipping work can now be done with the same number of staff! - Improved transportation efficiency: Zone A has a truck berth for loading and unloading goods and a part of it was reserved for the cardboard collection vehicle, allowing for an efficient flow of traffic from processing to disposal. The bale is easily transported by one person using a pallet lifter.
Some employees say they “cannot go back to the old way of working”
Employees who use the baler say: “honestly, once you’ve used it, you cannot go back to the old way of working.” In recent years, the logistics warehouse has been attracting attention among female job seekers because of the well-developed work environment and flexible working hours. About 80 % of the company’s 120 part-time employees are women.
A female employee comments: “Before, my fingernails would sometimes break when dismantling cardboard boxes. Now, all I have to do is putting the boxes into the machine, so it’s very easy and simple.”
A colleague adds: “Dismantling cardboard boxes can be physically demanding, but if you use too much force, you can get injured. Now, I can leave the heavy lifting to the machine, so I don’t have to worry.”
Reducing the risk of injuries is obviously a major benefit for employees and companies. The baler provides many advantages such as improved work efficiency, reduced labor burden, and improved safety.