Gildan - a Tall order:

Factory testing before delivery is standard for all spirals - even if they are too tall to stand up in our manufacturing facility.

The new 220,000 sq ft addition to the Gildan Activewear’s Eden North Carolina facility is now in operation. It houses a ten-aisle five-level order picking system where Ryson supplied 10 Multiple Entry High Capacity Spiral Conveyors. The spirals are 34 feet tall and have four intermediate induction conveyors facilitating entry from the 4 elevated picking levels.

These high capacity spiral conveyors have 24" wide slats and operate at 120 fpm. The heavy duty one-inch chain facilitates the heavy load requirements. Only one drive motor is required, resulting in substantial savings in energy, controls and system integration. The outside diameter of the spiral is 7' - 10" and all ten spirals were delivered fully assembled and ready to run.

The multiple entry spirals allow loads to enter the spirals from several different elevations and is an ideal solution for multi-tiered product flow. The induction conveyor belts are individually adjustable to match the the spiral’s pitch, assuring a smooth spiral entry.

The 34 foot tall spirals installed at the Gildan facility showing the shoot-in conveyor in action

The Before Shot, and old Case Elevator lifting boxes to upper level.

Same Packaging line after Ryson Unit Load Spiral Conveyor is Installed

Jeff continues: “We were intrigued with the possibility of replacing the elevator with the vertical spiral concept but technical personnel were skeptical of the robustness of the design. After meeting with EPS – the integrator on the project, contacting a current user of a Ryson Spiral Conveyor and viewing units at Pack Expo, the maintenance personnel felt much more receptive to the idea. The vertical spiral conveyor design also allowed us to make layout improvements.The VFD reduces much of the wear and tear mechanically. It is very quiet in operation and is much easier to service. It integrated easily with our conveyor and palletizer system and installation went as planned. To date we are very pleased with the operation of the unit.”

EPS - Engineered Packaging Solutions, LLC was the integrator on this project. Visit www.ryson.com for more information on the unit load spiral conveyors and other vertical conveying solutions.