Rick Sims

Rick Sims: Plant Manager

Rick Sims is responsible for the operational management of one of the largest plants in the Evans Garment Restoration family.A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Rick earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Virginia State University.His career in manufacturing spans 26 years to include Industrial Engineering and Production/Operations Management.Rick is highly motivated and recognizes the unique opportunity Evans Garment Restoration offers.He is dedicated to meeting and exceeding customer expectations while spawning an environment of operational excellence in the Mid-Atlantic franchise.

Says Rick Sims, plant manager: "Instead of one piece of equipment we'd be running three."

In contrast, a wraparound labeler-specifically a Trine 4500(TM) from CMS Gilbreth -can reach speeds of 350 containers/min on smaller containers.Power Packaging currently runs the Gatorade container at speeds in excess of 150/min.The high throughput is due to the labeler's continuously rotating vacuum drum design.The drum applies labels to containers as they file past at full speed.There are no reciprocating or pick-and-place motions.The necessary shrink is provided by a short heat tunnel placed after the labeler.
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"Without a wraparound label, we more than likely would have to tighten that cap again," says Sims.

On the labeler, material unwinds from its roll and first passes through a wheel that perforates the entire length of the label.The label itself covers the cap's skirt but doesn't rise above the cap's shoulder, unlike a shrink sleeve.Instead, it's attached to the container and the cap's skirt with adhesive.When the cap is unscrewed, it breaks the perforation.

After the perforation, the rollstock passes through a series of tensioning rollers.
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"The key is how much glue to apply," says Sims."The other consideration is to apply the right type of glue so it can shrink."The drum also had to be modified to tighten its grip on the labels to eliminate wrinkles encountered early on.

Meanwhile, containers enter the labeler's starwheel, which feeds them toward the vacuum drum.Containers travel around the approximately 30° curve of the rotating vacuum drum.A curved compression pad forces containers against the drum as they move forward, causing the containers to spin.
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"We built the whole line to be flexible in this regard," says Sims.

Changeover on this machine is rated at 30 minutes, but Sims and Gross believe that it can be done in half that time.
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During PW's visit, such a change was timed at three minutes for a full rethread; splicing into a threaded roll takes about a minute and a half, according to Sims.

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Rick Sims sees it as a solution that will only gain in popularity."I think it's the beginning of a trend.It's more economical because it can improve your line speeds."

He adds, "Shrink sleeves have always provided a certain look for contoured-type containers.Now we've been able to duplicate that look with more of a continuous-motion, high-speed, roll-fed machine."

Says Rick Sims, plant manager: "Instead of one piece of equipment we'd be running three."

In contrast, a wraparound labeler - specifically a TRINE 4500Ô from TRINE - can reach speeds of 350 containers/min on smaller containers.Power packaging currently runs the Gatorade container at speeds in excess of 150/min.The high throughput is due to the labeler's continuously rotating vacuum drum design.The drum applies labels to containers as they file past at full speed.There are no reciprocating or pick-and-place motions.The necessary shrink is provided by a short heat tunnel placed after the labeler.
...
"Without a wraparound label, we more than likely would have to tighten that cap again," says Sims.

On the labeler, material unwinds from its roll and first passes through a wheel that perforates the entire length of the label.The label itself covers the cap's skirt but doesn't rise above the cap's shoulder, unlike a shrink sleeve.Instead, it's attached to the container and the cap's skirt with adhesive.When the cap is unscrewed, it breaks the perforation.

After the perforation, the rollstock passes through a series of tensioning rollers.
...
"The key is how much glue to apply," says Sims."The other consideration is to apply the right type of glue so it can shrink."The drum also had to be modified to tighten its grip on the labels to eliminate wrinkles encountered early on.

Meanwhile, containers enter the labeler's starwheel, which feeds them toward the vacuum drum.Containers travel around the approximately 30° curve of the rotating vacuum drum.A curved compression pad forces containers against the drum as they move forward, causing the containers to spin.
...
"We built the whole line to be flexible in this regard," says Sims.

Changeover on this machine is rated at 30 minutes, but Sims and Gross believe that it can be done in half that time.
...
During PW's visit, such a change was timed at three minutes for a full rethread; splicing into a threaded roll takes about a minute and a half, according to Sims.

This combination of shrink and adhesive isn't the first, but it is unusual.Rick Sims sees it as a solution that will only gain in popularity."It's the beginning of a trend.It's more economical because it can improve your line speeds."

He adds, "Shrink sleeves have always provided a certain look for contoured-type containers.Now we've been able to duplicate that look with more of a continuous-motion, high-speed, roll-fed machine."