Today ’s North American Growers are look with some very hard challenges as they work to survive and boom . The current market environment they are face with often requires them to produce a large ambit of product in all shapes and size . alas , it is hard to maximise efficiency when you deal such a divers range of intersection .
This is the challenge that Smith Gardens face as they reckon to streamline their production and increase the efficiency of their processes . Meet Smith GardensIf you ever witness yourself travel through the beautiful Willamette Valley of Aurora , Oregon , you may just pass by a tumid expanse of greenhouses , spanning a totality of 25 acres . These greenhouses go to Smith Gardens ; a well - known raiser who provide plant to retailers in Washington , Oregon , Idaho , Western Canada , and even Alaska .
Over the years Smith Gardens has expanded to 4 locations along the west coast . They have been capable to do so due to their dedication to providing calibre plant to their customers class - round . Another cardinal factor to their maturation is their mentality towards forward-moving thought and development .
Having been in mental process for 118 yr Smith Gardens has bring in extensive knowledge of the industry through experience . They understand the note value in continuous erudition as they get both in size and volume . This has top them to be give to maintaining a eminent horizontal surface of efficiency in all their facilities to produce a quality productIt was several years ago when the people at Smith Gardens recognized the need for betterment in their production at the Aurora placement . They knew that they needed a solution that was both effective and could meet the uprise requirement for their ware .
look for a North American solutionThere were two key factors that led Smith Gardens to seek out automation as their solution . As many growers already can guess , the first cistron was toil . “The big drivers are both Labour availability and ever increase cost of Department of Labor ” , allege Jim Bajema the Facilities Director at Smith Gardens . Not only are grower across North America struggling with gamey turnover , but they are also having a hard time simply finding people to meet the positions they have usable .
The second key driving power that result them to mechanization was the need for a resolution that was efficient and streamlined .
The first step they took towards finding a root was to look at those who have already turned to automation . In the many trip to Europe over the years , the people from Smith Gardens have visited numerous growers utilizing mechanization in their production systems .
It was here that they keep on to see the heavy discrepancy between the North American grower and European growers . Due to differences in the market cultivator in Europe can grow big mono - crops . This allows them to utilize machinery without the same diverse range of abilities in their machine and yield lines that are essential for any North American grower . The solution that Smith Gardens was looking for needed to fulfill a few different requirement . First and first off , as every grower knows , it needed to have a well return on investment . Jim Bajema name a good ROI as about 2 years in simple vengeance terms . He also fix the point that there are times when you are look at an ROI of 3 to 5 years or long , which is satisfactory when the investment has in force long - term benefits .
Secondly , it needed to be a root that was of high quality and perdurable enough to last for many years . This led them to Bellpark Horticulture , a solutions supplier committed to supplying only the best quality machine from the good manufacturer . Through their close partnership with Mayer , Visser , and Logitec they ensure that their equipment has the sturdiest builds made from the best textile which allows for low maintenance monetary value down the road . In accession to this a dedicated squad of Bellpark customer musical accompaniment staff and technician are always available for any share or service requests . Visser Spacing Machine with Spacing Forks
Working out the detailsBellpark Project Consultants figure out with Smith Gardens to design a system that would aid whelm the challenge that they were feel with their production line of reasoning . They needed to acquire a system that was up to of process their entire range of production without pause or dead time as the products were transported across the long nursery . The production solution that Smith Gardens and Bellpark Horticulture developed together involve four yield lines , which together can cover all the production requisite that Smith Gardens faces . These production stemma each have different purposes and capabilities which are determined by the pick of automated machine in each .
Mayer ’s 2400 DR Potting auto
Many of the product sell by Smith Gardens are planted in mint . As a result , it was decided that the first yield line would start with a 2400 DR potting motorcar by Mayer . The machine ’s prominent quality guarantees high-pitched planting quality with a systematically centered planting hole . Mayer ’s 2400 DR Potting Machines have been eff to pot up to 7,000 peck per hour and can treat a variety of pot size . Smith Gardens needed the 2400 DR for three specific pot sizes and has them planted into by hand .
Other plant grow by Smith Gardens are planted in various sized and shaped pots and hanging basket . These are accommodated for in a bridge player planting rail line which was work up with canonical conveyor belts ideal for hand planting and filling . This agate line is also excellent for the smaller batch product that Smith Gardens take on juncture . The Visser PC-21
There are many other eccentric of products that require to be planted in large batches . These ware are often in flats , pots , or pots in trays . It was decided that there would be two lines to process these large batch product so that all size and form could be accommodate for . The first of these features one of Visser ’s highly flexible PC-21 ’s and the 2nd features a PC-31 Redline transplanter . The PC-31 is more than capable of efficiently handling the larger muckle with an impressive maximum capacity of up to 38,000 works per hour . Their use of 24 servosystem - controlled grippers allows the machine to be as flexible as they are quick . The PC-31 is a transplanter designed for agriculturalist with a full range of tray and different transplantation programs . It was determined that at the death of each production line Bellpark Horticulture would put a Bellpark WT-700 lachrymation burrow and a Vimax wide bash . The tearing tunnel is a high - quality piece of equipment that recycles almost 100 % of weewee not absorbed by the commode and plants . As the products die the watering tunnel they are moved onto the Vimax which efficiently buffers , collects and evenly spaces pots to be ready for transportation into the glasshouse . Bellpark ’s WT-700 Recycling Water Tunnel
This is where they run into the second challenge in design the production lines , the transport time . The Aurora location has recollective greenhouses and they needed to transport products from the production line to their right Laurus nobilis without stalling the production line . Bellpark ’s solution was to integrate two Visser Spacing Machines ( VSM ’s ) with double transport forking . This allows the Smith Garden employees to quickly transport bombastic numbers of gage . Visser Spacing Forks and Vimax Wide Belt
Present Clarence Day productionWhen we ask what production is like now , Jim Bajema said that “ when I walk into that production facility now operation are much calmer than they used to be . ”He goes on to distinguish how the Aurora greenhouses now operate more swimmingly throughout the day than they did without automation . He also spoke of how the nature of the labor has changed , appropriate them to run a swing work shift for employees rather than the 10 - 12 hour days antecedently needed to satisfy production requirements and to take full advantage of the investment . Bellpark ’s WT-700 Recycling Water Tunnel
expect at the futureMoving forward Smith Gardens is looking to flesh out a few of their lines to lodge trays , allowing for more versatility in their production personal line of credit .
For more information : Bellpark Horticulturewww.bellparkhorticulture.com
