Greycon: Working Together to Deliver Automation and Digitisation, Creating More Efficient Ways of Working While Minimising Environmental Impacts

To achieve such an expansive product range the firm has invested in four paper production lines, two of which are used only to produce paper for the public sector. Each production line features winders, rewinders and simplex and duplex cutters. Each line is designed to produce finished paper as a defined SKU, ready for customers to purchase.

The demand from the retail market is for varying dimensions, and all the planning and production of different sized products were being carried out manually. While this had been an accepted way of working, it was not the most efficient approach, and it wasn’t unusual for errors and inaccuracies to occur. Subsequently, this would affect production output while trim losses had room for reduction.

The company’s young and dynamic management team are keen to invest in automation and digitisation where there is a robust business case and clear opportunities for improvement. Identifying that these two paper production lines would benefit from this investment, the firm went to the market to find potential suppliers. SIL had already invested in implementing SAP Hana, as part of this initiative.

After a detailed evaluation process, it was clear that Greycon’s X-Trim solution would provide the ideal solution to update and modernise the finishing house practices in the factory. X-Trim was well suited to the task, with a proven track record of reducing planning time and wasted materials. It was also a good fit with the firm’s culture of continuous investment in the latest technologies and digitisation and they were impressed with Greycon’s team and the ongoing support offered to clients.

Once Greycon’s team had evaluated the best way to implement X-Trim, and the solution had been deployed in the business, the firm started to recognise the benefits almost immediately.

As a result, both the efficiency and accuracy of slitting and sheet cutting planning has improved. The planners can now test out different scenarios in a short period of time. This ensures that the most efficient cutting and preparation scenarios have been considered and the appropriate one chosen. Not only have planning processes improved, but the team have also noted a measurable reduction in the volume of trim waste because of the new solution.

“At Satia group we are always looking to embrace world-class solutions which can help drive operating efficiencies” states Satia Executive Director, Chirag Satia. “Our people are very happy using the X-Trim solution since it has helped them to make far better decisions after evaluating multiple production options. It has also meant that the time required to produce a trim plan is far lower, providing them with much needed time for other value-added activities. We are extremely satisfied with this decision”.

The project has been hugely successful, representing another step towards full automation and digitisation and reinforcing the firm’s commitment to minimising the environmental impact of its activities.