STEICO increased the safety and speed of loading by investing in LoadPlate®

STEICO, based in Germany, offers its customers construction products made from renewable raw materials. The company has a production facility in Czarna Woda, Poland, where it produces laminated veneer lumber (LVL) in various widths and thicknesses.

STEICO wanted to find a solution that would optimize the process of loading its products into containers. LVL products loaded into shipping containers can be up to 12 meters long, which presents challenges during the loading operation. “The main problem was the length and weight of the products to be loaded and the limited number of employees,” says STEICO warehouse manager Michal Bystry. “The most important objectives we wanted to achieve were to improve safety, increase the speed of loading without damage and reduce the dangerous work of the employees responsible for loading the containers.”

The reference visit and the practical experience of the customer convinced STEICO

Actiw arranged for STEICO to visit a reference facility in Poland so they could see how the LoadPlate works when loading wood products into containers. The reference visit and the practical experience of the customer reassured STEICO to proceed with an order for the semi-automatic LoadPlate to load their LVL material. Following installation STEICO has achieved the goals it had set for its loading operation. “Currently, loading takes about 15 minutes. Previously, loading with forklifts took about 1.5 hours,” says Bystry. The investment in LoadPlate was a preventive measure to improve employee well-being, as STEICO avoided dangerous work situations during loading.

According to Michal Bystry, the entire project went successfully, from installation to commissioning. “Everything went as agreed with Actiw”, he says. “And if the need arises, I hope we can work with Actiw again. We were especially pleased with the training of our operators and mechanics during installation”, Bystry adds.

“It only takes 15 minutes to load LVL products into containers using LoadPlate.”