John Pipe Case Study – Location: Norfolk

Tide Waits For No Man: Packing a Giant Machine Against the Clock

John Pipe have partnerships right across the country, so distance wasn’t an issue when we were requested to support an existing client with a project further afield – packing a very large machine over a very short period of time. This was a highly sensitive, advanced piece of automated packaging machinery capable of making fully recyclable cardboard containers at an impressive rate of 216 units a minute. The machine and its various stations were able to fold, glue, and position a foil bladder within a screw-capped cardboard bottle capable of containing liquids like oils through to spirits.

Here’s the story of how John Pipe were able to take on the challenge.

Interested in hearing project lead Jon Bradley’s take on the story? Listen to the audio below.

Racing Against Time and Nature

Due to contractual obligations, a vessel was booked for shipping ahead of the machine’s sign-off. Technical issues were being stubborn during final testing, however ‘tide waits for no man’. Whilst the technicians commissioned off the machine, the team were now faced with a seven-day workload to complete in just four days. Jon Bradley, who took the lead on this project, had previously attended the site and John Pipe had prepared, manufactured, and delivered all the cases in advance of our start date.

But then we had Storm Kieren!

Earlier in the week, while the storm built in strength, we were able to use the finer weather to prepare and pack the support and ancillary equipment, loading and securing it into a 40ft container whilst the technicians worked on the main machine.

Here you can see the sort of equipment and cases being packed and loaded into the container

Packing Under Pressure

All of this equipment had to be specially hermetically sealed, as it was going by sea freight to Canada. It’s imperative that moisture would not affect the electronics within the cabinets. The only real way of doing this is to foil-bag them and charge them with a sufficiently strong amount of desiccant so that the inner atmosphere is controlled and keeps things dry.

Part of the machinery being packed was the gluing machinery. This is typically the sort of stuff that was in size and would fit into a shipping container. At this time, the skies are looking good, but this is early on in the project so the team had to crack on. And while the John Pipe team were getting on with this, the customer’s engineering team were finishing off the main machine on another part of the estate.

Juggling Logistics

Here’s the ancillary equipment packed and loaded in the container. These cases of equipment are all support items, conveyors, little control cabinets, etc. These were loaded into the container before the team started on packing the main piece of machinery. During this time, Jon had to control three lots of different contractors. It was important that Jon had worked with the contractors before so they weren’t strangers, which helped as everyone knew exactly what needed to be done.

The largest and heaviest case was loaded last on day two to make it easy for the other side to pull out.

The Calm Before the Storm

This is the the eve of Storm Kieren coming in. While it looks pretty tranquil and lovely on the beach, don’t be deceived. The next day, the full force of the storm came at the team. Now working on a different estate, just five miles up the road from the other equipment, the team were now working in a very small unit. With parts of the machine being pulled out, the team had to quickly land them, support them on bases, foil seal them, and add desiccant charges within the machine to ensure that no moisture would get in and affect the efficiency of the machine or cause any other issues with the electronics.

Battling the Elements

The clouds are coming in and it’s getting windy, but here it is, foil-sealed. Shortly after, the sides and ends of the lid were quickly added, then covered completely in a tarpaulin. This is the standard method for out-of-gauge packing for stuff that sits on the top of the decks of ships since it frequently gets covered in seawater. This method protects it for its journey right through to the end client.

Overcoming Obstacles

This is big machinery, at over 7.3 metres long, 2.34 metres wide and 2.55 metres high. And this is just one-half of the overall machine. The weather’s really starting to come in now, so it’s getting foil-bagged as fast as possible. The desiccant charge is added. Everything within the machine is tied down so it doesn’t move, then the air is extracted and the packing is welded shut. Now all the desiccant charge has to do is control the atmosphere with its restricted amount of air for the duration of the shipment.

The wind then really starts to blow as the last piece of machine is prepared. The team go through the same process of getting it out of the building, quickly landing it on the base with the subcontractor guys and their heavy fork trucks, then getting it back inside before the weather got into it too much. Then they dried the machine, wiped it all down, got it ready to put the foil bag over it before once again starting to pack it.

What’s more, time is now running short. This is the end of day four and the next morning all the trucks are turning up to take the kit to be shipped. Everything is being thrown at the team all at once as the final day draws near.

The Final Steps

This 7,000kg machine is almost touching the roof of the building, but thankfully it is mounted on skates which allows us to pull clear of the building and further push back into the building as the weather persists.

The transport lorry turns up early so the machine is loaded and sent away.

Finally the team reach the final day of loading. The storm is easing, it’s dry, but the wind persists. The large forklifts are able to pull everything from the building and load into waiting transport. It’s now off to Southampton Docks to be positioned and secured to flat racks before making its arduous trip aboard ship to Canada.

Project Summary

The team had to complete a seven-day job within 4 working days with just three men. Despite many obstacles and setbacks, John Pipe managed to achieve this against all the elements. The shipment was in time and loaded to the vessel on time, and can now report its successful installation with Canada.

Got an export or logistics project you need help with? Then you can trust our team are capable and ready to help, no matter the circumstances. Get in touch using the button below today to see how we can help.

Get in touch

Racing Against Time and Nature

Due to contractual obligations, a vessel was booked for shipping ahead of the machine’s sign-off. Technical issues were being stubborn during final testing, however ‘tide waits for no man’. Whilst the technicians commissioned off the machine, the team were now faced with a seven-day workload to complete in just four days. Jon Bradley, who took the lead on this project, had previously attended the site and John Pipe had prepared, manufactured, and delivered all the cases in advance of our start date.

But then we had Storm Kieren!

Earlier in the week, while the storm built in strength, we were able to use the finer weather to prepare and pack the support and ancillary equipment, loading and securing it into a 40ft container whilst the technicians worked on the main machine.

Here you can see the sort of equipment and cases being packed and loaded into the container

Packing Under Pressure

All of this equipment had to be specially hermetically sealed, as it was going by sea freight to Canada. It’s imperative that moisture and so forth would not affect the electronics within the cabinets. The only real way of doing this is to foil-bag them and charge them with a sufficiently strong amount of desiccant so that the inner atmosphere is controlled and keeps things dry.

Part of the machinery being packed was the gluing machinery. This is typically the sort of stuff that was in size and would fit into a shipping container. At this time, the skies are looking good, but this is early on in the project so the team had to crack on. And while the John Pipe team were getting on with this, the customer’s engineers were finishing off the main machine on another part of the estate.

Juggling Logistics

Here it is in the container. These are cases of ancillary equipment, all support items, conveyors, little control cabinets, etc. These were loaded into the container before the team started on the main piece of machinery. During this time, Jon had to control three lots of different contractors. It was important that Jon had worked with them before so they weren’t strangers, as everyone knew exactly what needed to be done.

The largest and heaviest case was loaded last on day two to make it easy for the other side to pull out.

The Calm Before the Storm

This is the the eve of Storm Kieren coming in. While it looks pretty tranquil out there and lovely, don’t be deceived. The next day, the full force of the storm came at the team. Now working on a different estate, just five miles up the road from the other equipment, the team were now working in a very small unit. With parts of the machine being pulled out, the team had to quickly land them, support them on the bases, foil seal them, and add desiccant charges within the machine to ensure that no moisture would get in and affect the efficiency of the machine or cause any other issues with the electronics.

Battling the Elements

The clouds are coming in and it’s getting windy, but here it is, foil-sealed. Shortly after, the sides and ends of the lid were quickly added, then covered completely in a tarpaulin. This is the standard method for out-of-gauge packing for stuff that sits on the top of the decks of ships since it frequently gets covered in seawater. This method protects it for its journey right through to the end client.

Overcoming Obstacles

This is big machinery, at over 7.3 metres long, 2.34 metres wide and 2.55 metres high. And this is just one-half of the overall machine. The weather’s really starting to come in now, so it’s getting foil-bagged as fast as possible. The desiccant charge is added. Everything within the machine is tied down so it doesn’t move, then the air is extracted and the packing is welded shut. Now all the desiccant charge has to do is control the atmosphere with its restricted amount of air for the duration of the shipment.

The wind then really starts to blow as the last piece of machine is prepared. The team go through the same process of getting it out of the building, quickly landing it on the base with the subcontractor guys and their heavy fork trucks, then getting it back inside before the weather got into it too much. Then they dried the machine, wiped it all down, got it ready to put the foil bag over it before once again starting to pack it.

What’s more, time is now running short. This is the end of day four and the next morning all the trucks are turning up to take the kit to be shipped. Everything is being thrown at the team all at once as the final day draws near.

The Final Steps

This 7,000kg machine is almost touching the roof of the building, but thankfully it is mounted on skates which allows us to pull clear of the building and further push back into the building as the weather persists.

The transport lorry turns up early so the machine is loaded and sent away.

Finally the team reach the final day of loading. The storm is easing, it’s dry, but the wind persists. The large forklifts are able to pull everything from the building and load into waiting transport. It’s now off to Southampton Docks to be positioned and secured to flat racks before making its arduous trip aboard ship to Canada.

Project Summary

The team had to complete a seven-day job within 4 working days with just three men. Despite many obstacles and setbacks, John Pipe managed to achieve this against all the elements. The shipment was in time and loaded to the vessel on time, and can now report its successful installation with Canada.

Got an export or logistics project you need help with? Then you can trust our team are capable and ready to help, no matter the circumstances. Get in touch using the button below today to see how we can help.

Get in touch

Our services: How we can help...

For sixty years, John Pipe International have been a diligent provider of export services. Based in the South of England, we are fully equipped to handle your export packing and freight needs. Whether you’re shipping overseas or packing dangerous items, our team are on hand to assist with the logistics of your project. With our MPAS certification, we are happy to assist with military and defence exports.

Management team

It takes a dedicated team to manage global logistics. The John Pipe International management team have years of experience and background knowledge. Find out more about the people who will manage your export project..

Jon Bradley

Jon Bradley

Director

Jon joined us more than 25 years ago from a strong engineering and manufacturing background. His appreciation of machinery and processes can provide assurance to our customers from packaging design to delivery, linking all the different logistical elements to ensure goods are packed, handled and exported in the safest and most efficient way.

Nathan Kennedy

Nathan Kennedy

Managing Director

Nathan was approved by the MoD as a Military packaging designer in 2012, after qualifying as a Military packaging professional. Coupled with his Dangerous Goods in Transit qualification, Nathan can apply this knowledge and experience to ensure any goods are packed in tried and tested containers.

John Pipe Case Study – Location: Norfolk

Jon Felton

Director

Jon is the Works Director for John Pipe International, based at the Hampshire branch. He has been a logistics professional for over 25 years and has held management positions in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. This has allowed him to build strong customer relationships and offer a comprehensive service package for packing and shipping to our clients.