H.B. Fuller is an international adhesive manufacturing company with plants worldwide. For the recently acquired plant in Belgium, previously known as Fourny NV, we installed The Gravifill Liquid in its manufacturing hall to ensure smooth, ergonomic filling of different products in different volumes and easy cleaning of the sticky parts.
Due to a wide variety of end products in composition, packaging, and volume, H.B. Fuller can not rely on fully automatic lines to fulfil its filling needs. Long cleaning cycles, high throughput, and the necessary high volumes are only some of the reasons that these fully automatic lines do not make economic sense.
To address this need for efficient filling without requiring a big-buck machine that will never reach its full potential, we proposed The Gravifill, an agile machine that is designed for quick product changeover and has an easy cleaning and setup process.
“The Gravifill is a highly flexible and simple-to-use machine that fits very well with the products we manufacture. Its versatility, ease of maintenance, and cleaning make it highly suitable for the products we fill and the variations in volumes we manufacture.”
The adhesive manufacturing sector is very familiar with big changes in volume output. This is due to the cyclical nature of sectors down the line, like car and housing construction firms.
Therefore, this industry requires a very adaptable workforce that can quickly grow and shrink if necessary. With that adaptability in mind, it’s crucial that new machines do not have a steep learning curve or require days of training before an employee can start operating them.
The Gravifill does just that, requiring minimal training to configure. Its intuitive design ensures that permanent or interim employees can quickly learn to operate it, minimizing downtime and maximizing productivity.
“The Gravifill allows us to train new and interim employees very fast to operate the machine.”
The labour-intensive manufacturing process makes a healthy working environment crucial for H.B. Fuller. Ergonomic equipment that reduces the frequency of overusing muscles, bones, and joints results in fewer long-term absences of employees who need to stay home due to injuries.
The Gravifill provides an ideal solution with ergonomics as a fundamental design principle. Its user-friendly interface and automated valve closing system reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries and allow operators to work comfortably. This focus on ergonomics enhances employee well-being and boosts productivity by minimizing downtime associated with workplace injuries.
“This machine’s ergonomics and ease of use make it one that our operators happily use.”
“As a manufacturing partner, we can always rely on the expertise of The Gravifill guys. Whenever we need new machinery, Sam is our go-to guy for guiding us in possible solutions, even if it’s a machine that they don’t have in their portfolio.”