Solutions
The largest home delivery water factory in Japan. Truck loaders are used for shipping.
Premium Water Products Co., Ltd.
overview
Premium Water Products Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of Premium Water Group, a major home delivery water supplier, has completed the second phase of construction at its third production base, the Gifu Kitakata Factory (Kitakata-cho, Gifu Prefecture), and has begun full-scale operation. The latest automated equipment was introduced, aiming for significant labor savings and mass production. Okura's material handling equipment, including robotic palletizers and truck loaders, has been adopted in the areas from packaging to shipping, and a system has been established that allows a monthly production of 2.4 million bottles with a workforce of 30 people.
Equipment Features
Feature 1
Achieving high performance with cutting-edge equipment
The factory is equipped with the latest equipment. The 12-liter PET bottles used as containers are produced in-house, and the entire process from filling to boxing, packaging, and shipping is carried out in a seamless manner. In particular, the latest molding machines (with a capacity of 1,500 bottles per hour) have been installed for PET bottle production, increasing production capacity.
Natural spring water is being filled into 12-liter PET bottles one after another.
High-speed, state-of-the-art boxing machine
Feature 2
Promoting automation with two types of robot palletizers
A robotic palletizer for depalletizing is in operation upstream of the box-making machine. A special hand carefully separates the bundled cardboard sheets stacked on the pallet, one by one. The bundled sheets are then automatically cut and boxed together, and filled 12-liter bottles are packed into boxes at high speed. A robotic palletizer has also been introduced on the packaging line. The packed cases are palletized into groups of four cases (approximately 50 kg). There are two packaging lines, with two machines in operation.
A robotic palletizer that separates bundled cardboard sheets
Robot palletizer stacks in units of 4 cases (approximately 50 kg)
Feature 3
16 pallets loaded onto a truck
The actual pallets are temporarily stored in an automated warehouse and shipped as needed, but the truck loader is a powerful tool in the shipping yard. The actual pallets that are discharged one after another from the automated warehouse to the shipping yard are loaded onto a 10-ton truck in batches of 16. This has made it possible to automate the loading process that was previously carried out using a forklift.
16 forks lift 16 pallets
Loading 16 pallets onto a truck at once
A single operator operates the track loader
Effects of introducing equipment
It used to take an experienced forklift operator 30 to 40 minutes to load one truck, but with a truck loader, loading alone takes just 3.5 minutes, and even including incidental work such as the driver putting in and taking out cushioning material, it only takes 7 minutes. Currently, the average number of trucks shipped per day is about 40, but we are able to handle shipments of up to around 100 trucks.
Customer testimonials
In addition to having high-quality water, the Gifu Kitakata Factory is blessed with an excellent logistics environment, making it easy to ship to the large markets of the Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka areas. The factory equipment was installed in two phases, with particular focus on improving the efficiency of on-site logistics to enable the speedy shipping of large quantities of products. We adopted many of Okura's material handling equipment, such as conveyors and robot palletizers, but the highlight was the truck loader. We were confident that this equipment would have a dramatic effect. Drivers now spend almost no time waiting for cargo, which also helped us address the 2024 problem.
- Company Name
- Premium Water Products Co., Ltd.
- Business content
- Premium Water Group's home delivery water production
- Number of employees
- 201 people
- Home page
- https://pw-products.co.jp/
