Thomas Hardy recently upgraded to the end of line packaging system at the site, where a new shrinkwrapper was installed, and there was a requirement to modify the bottle conveyors feeding the new machine.

As a contract packer, the company's requirement to handle a wide range of bottles and packaging formats had resulted in the new shrinkwrapper occupying a lot of the available floor space.

WEG's solution involved the design and installation of a new bottle conveying system, from the labeller discharge to the infeed of the shrinkwrapper, with a bottle recirculation at the heart of it.

Steve Chorley, director of WEG, told Packaging News: "The area between the labeller discharge and new shrinkwrapper was very compact and in order to link these with a new conveying system WEG had to install a bespoke bottle recirculation system to provide a compact accumulation solution."

The guide rail system on the bottle conveyors was purpose designed to suit the full range of bottles and accommodate the frequent size changes.

A spokes person for Thomas Hardy told Packaging News: "The innovative layout as designed by Walsall Engineering provided the ideal solution and was a perfect fit for Thomas Hardy.