Back-Saving Pallet Level Loaders Win Accolades from Operators 

The Problem 

At a newspaper plant, preprinted inserts are fed into inserting drums at the rate of 25,000 per hour.  At that speed, operators go through a pallet load of 14,000 inserts pretty quickly. “Feeding the drums required a lot of nonstop stooping and bending. Installing new equipment like a Roll-On Level Loader has virtually eliminated back complaints and allows us to load and unload with a hand pallet truck.” 

The Solution 

The equipment consists of a pallet-size, three-sided steel box, open at one end for receiving and removing pallets. A foot switch that raises or lowers the platform to maintain the most convenient height for loading and unloading newspaper inserts.

An adjustable platform containing an empty pallet is raised to the proper position for loading inserts from conveyors. The platform is then lowered in stages, always maintaining the ergonomically correct loading level. Once a pallet is unloaded, it is removed from a pallet truck and is used to reload the level loader. 

The fact that pallets can be rolled on or off the adjustable platforms with a hand pallet truck was especially important since the newspaper’s inserting equipment is located in a confined area that is too small for the use of forklifts.

“We have installed 12 of the units, and they’ve worked out so well I anticipate getting 12 more.”