Installation of a printing and folding machine at Smurfit Kappa, Turnhout

Saan was already known to and trusted by Smurfit Kappa in Turnhout (Belgium) when the investment was made in a new Göpfert Evolution HBL printing and folding machine. Saan had already transported other machines to the client’s satisfaction. So when a plan of approach and a budget had to be produced to introduce this machine into the production building, the client contacted Saan Industrial Relocation.

Saan established the points of contact with all the suppliers involved. Smurfit Kappa did not want to worry about this itself. So Saan sought contact with the three parties involved (Bobst, Göpfert and Allianz) to produce an initial inventory. Then a draft schedule was produced. For Smurfit, safety was a particularly important aspect. There were of course exceptional moves within the factory and first of all the safety rules had to be crystal clear to everyone. Once the schedule was further clarified after several meetings, a quotation was produced. The actual machine installation occurred four months after its approval by Smurfit Kappa.

The entire production line was delivered on about 25 lorries. The entire logistics process was specified in the schedule based on Smurfit Kappa’s timetable. The parts were connected by fitters from Göpfert and Bobst. The six machine parts, each weighing 30 tonnes, were brought into the factory by lorry. The machine could not be allowed to touch a grille on the floor (with a work pit beneath it) and the heavy parts therefore had to be connected whilst suspended. There were no lifting facilities available in the building and the height of the building was too low for the use of a crane. So Saan’s industrial relocators set up 4 sets of gantry cranes to lift these parts off the lorries and take them inside with millimetre precision. In addition, a forklift truck and a steerable trolley were used to help with bringing in the production line.

The job was prepared for in detail in collaboration with all the parties. However, the transportation of the machine parts to the Turnhout site suffered a delay and therefore the parts did not arrive in the right order. So Saan intervened on the spot in the timetable so as to still be able to work as efficiently as possible. In the end, despite this setback the job was done within the specified time.