5 Real Reasons Why Manufacturers Are Getting Rid Of Box Balers

Written by Jordan Biberkraut, Operations Manager

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Box balers are a staple piece of machinery for almost every manufacturing plant. But balers are also archaic equipment, unneeded in the modern world, a fact recognized by many manufacturers.

Thanks to corrugated cardboard boxes (OCC) reuse services, the need for box balers is eliminated. Over 300 companies in North America have already gotten rid of their balers, opting to reuse their OCC waste, resulting in a five-fold increase in revenues.

How can manufacturers save so much money simply by removing balers off of the work-floor?

It’s not exactly obvious, so let us spell out the reasons why, exactly, manufacturers are ditching their balers

1. To Eliminate Upkeep Expenses

Machines break down. It’s a simple fact of life.

When your smartphone clonks out, it’s annoying. However, when a vital piece of machinery integral to your business’s workflow stops working, the stakes are a bit higher.

For every minute the piece of equipment isn’t functional, your business loses money.

Balers are no exception to this rule. When a baler breaks down (and it will, at some point) you don’t really have many options until it’s repaired.

Planning for a baler-breakdown is next to impossible, so why not remove the element of chance entirely? Using a cardboard box reuse service eliminates the need for a baler and all of the added expenses associated with keeping the machine operational.

2. To Save On Time

The bailing process is so deeply engrained into many manufacturer’s operations that they don’t really realize how time-consuming it is.

But when you break it down, the bailing process is lengthy, to say the least.

A whole seven steps, the bailing process forces workers to break down boxes, put them in a bin, move them to a baler, put the boxes in the baler, bale the boxes, then move all of the contents to another trailer. The whole process also takes at least three employees to finish.

Reusing cardboard corrugated boxes takes half the time. A far simpler process, all you need to do is break old boxes down, place and strap them to a pallet, and move the pallet to a trailer. Less steps means more time for your employees to do far more important work.

3. To Save On Space

Time is money, but so is space.

A finite resource on any work-floor, most large business operations need to cram employees, machinery, and product into one area. The typical result is a cramped work environment that doesn’t leave room for expansion or the addition of new equipment that can increase productivity.

Large and rather cumbersome, balers dominate quite a bit of space even though they’re not an essential piece of equipment.

Getting rid of a baler eliminates the need for up to three handling points and saves up to 50 pallet spaces on the plant floor.

Bail on the baler and give your business some much-needed breathing room.

4. To Stop Wasting Energy

Every time you use your company’s baler, you’re spending money, since balers need energy to operate. Basically, balers create an added operational cost.

But not if your business doesn’t actually use a baler anymore.

Never having to switch a baler “on” will snowball into some serious savings for any manufacturing plant. Plus, since OCC reuse services (like Rebox) handle the pick-up and transport of used materials, your business will eliminate all transportation costs associated with the recycling process.

5. To Maximize Employee Performance

Let’s face it, no employee likes to be in charge of the bailing process. Those seven steps we went through earlier are tedious and time-consuming, to put it lightly. That’s why getting rid of balers has a somewhat surprising added benefit: employees are happier.

A recent case study conducted by Rebox in a dairy manufacturing plant found that employee satisfaction rates increased once balers were removed from the company’s workflow.

With elimination of the baling process, employee performance increased and operations ran more smoothly.

Get rid of the baler and start maximizing your business’s profits, efficiency, and employee satisfaction.