TESTER Allied Hygiene, one of the largest independent manufacturers of wet and dry wipes in the UK, has been operating in Erith, Kent for over 25 years. In February 2015, a fire necessitated the company invest in a new production line. With support from Shemesh Automation, the factory was up and running again within days, with a more efficient production line based around the Shemesh Automation Xpander monoblock packaging machine.

Although the fire had a significant effect on the operation of the business, Allied Hygiene was determined to turn this to their advantage. After relocating and setting up temporary systems, the next step was to get production back in place as quickly as possible.

Allied Hygiene’s CEO John Prentice searched the market for a suitable packing machine and made an introduction to Shai Shemesh within days. Following a private demonstration, the benefits of the Xpander monoblock packaging machine were obvious compared with alternative machines, so John went ahead with the purchase.

The Xpander monoblock packaging machine is the only wet wipes production machine in the world for stuffing as well as capping and sealing in one monoblock unit. It manages all packing operations from canister loading, dosing, sealing and capping. It also includes full built-in quality control and smart weight checking technology.

The capacity of the Xpander was ideally suited to Allied Hygiene’s production requirements. As a specialist manufacturer of wet wipes involved in batch production, this speed satisfies customer demand without the downtime, costly capital outlay, space and utility consumption associated with other production lines. Compared with Allied Hygiene’s previous production line, the Xpander has given Allied Hygiene additional capacity through a small machine footprint, saving on factory space.

According to John Prentice; “Since installing the Shemesh Automation Xpander in our wet wipes production line in the UK, we have seen tangible results in terms of cost and waste reduction. Only two operators are needed to run the machine and the small footprint has freed up factory space to allow us to increase capacity. Shemesh Automation and I have formed a very close relationship and I will always be happy to demonstrate the Xpander to any organisation considering a purchase.”

Having installed the most advanced wet wipes production machine in the world, the Shemesh Automation Xpander has been producing 30 to 35 wet wipe canisters/containers per minute since it was installed in March this year, without any downtime for reactive maintenance. Allied Hygiene continue to invest and have since upgraded the machine to the Xpander+ model with a fully automatic feeder to further increase efficiency, as well as two further complete turnkey Shemesh Automation lines.

With support from Shemesh Automation, the team at Allied Hygiene have turned a potential disaster into a real benefit for the long term future of the business.