In the branch concerned with portable and multi-purpose aids for mobility, Alber is right at the top on an international level. The versatile medium-sized company develops high-quality drive systems for the E-bike sector under the brand name of neodrives. Fairness and sustainability are of prime importance to the company and so they have always placed a high value on consciously acting in an ecological and social way.
Proof of this can be seen with the initiative “Fair Green Company“ which was conceived in 2012 and which focusses on fair relationships with employees and business partners and also on responsibility to the environment. In this regard, the company generates 80 percent of its daily electricity requirement from its own photovoltaic system.
Sustainable Company Development
The company development is just as sustainable: In 1986, when the company was founded, it consisted of five people and has devloped over time into a medium size company with just under 500 employees. During this period, the company’s actual footprint also expanded which is why it moved into a new production and administration building with an adjoining automatic high-bay warehouse in March 2020. Medical products are developed, manufactured and supplied from an area of about 16,000 m2.
The product portfolio has also enlarged with time and the company’s manufacturing output has also increased. The baling presses in use up to now reached their limits as they could no longer cope with the increased volume of the cardboard which needed to be recycled. Alber knew they needed a new baling press to solve their capacity problem.
Whilst the company was looking around, they had their first contact with HSM at a trade fair. Other manufacturers were also under consideration in the selection process. HSM was then selected not only because of the good personal contact between the companies but also because of its impressive references, the quality they could expect and the excellent price-performance ratio.
Horizontal baling presses make high-quality bales
The HSM HL 7009 MGB does a great job. The size and the features of the machine were particularly important for Alber’s procurement decision; the horizontal counterplate press is perfect for their regular, larger recycling tasks. And the sizeable loading aperture makes it possible to load the machine using standard large waste containers, which means Alber GmbH saves having to cut up the large bits of cardboard beforehand.
Despite its size, the compact press does not take up a lot of space. Thanks to the automatic lifting/tilting system, the Alber staff can fill the machine easily and quickly. The intuitive graphics display makes it easy to operate. An additional advantage of the machine is the easy strapping and ejection of the bales. The company therefore benefits from needing fewer staff to deal with the waste whilst simultaneously achieving a high compression density of its recyclable materials. With a cross section of 1100 x 1100 mm and a bale length of 1200 mm, the average weight of the bales is 600 kg, which ensures that truck loading is efficient and economical.
Efficiently integrated in the intra-logistics
Due to the large loading aperture and the integrated receptacle for waste bins, additional large waste bins were procured and bolted onto trolleys. As these are now conveyed in a tugger train, they are efficiently integrated into Alber’s Intralogistics: a tugger train can pull four waste bins to the baling press at the same time. The result is a process which is four times as fast whilst also saving unnecessary trips. According to Alber, the whole concept works only because the HSM press fulfills the requirements so well.
The HSM HL 7009 MGB baling press now produces about 40 to 50 bales per month. By passing the bales on to the paper factory, the cardboard has a sustainable, second life and Alber GmbH also benefits financially. The project engineering and the installation of the new horizontal baling press went extremely well. The medium sized company is also satisfield with the service and the reaction times. There is no question about it: with the new HSM baling press, Alber is optimally equipped – also for the company’s future capacity requirements.
Statement
“Since the HSM baling press fulfils our requirements so well and offers an integrated waste bin receptacle, we were able to integrate the trolley-transport of the cardboard into our intralogistics using a tugger train. We therefore save unnecessary trips and gain valuable time.“
Patrick Paruzel
Logistics Department Head
Alber GmbH
