Joloda transport: a guide to safe paper reel handling equipment

In the Paper Industry, you’ll come across several different types of reel and usages of them. Major uses of paper include newsprint and the manufacture of corrugated fibre board. In both cases, these reels are large, heavy and can weigh more than half a tonne, making mechanical handling necessary.

In corrugated box production, there are three main types of paper reel. The reels are made from recycled fibres, kraft roll or a combination of the two. The types themselves are:

• Linerboard: The linerboard is the outer layer of the box and provides strength and a smooth printing surface. Often, you’ll find it made from virgin or recycled fibres and with varying basis weights to meet particular packaging requirements.
  
  
• Medium: This fluted layer between the linerboards provides strength and structural integrity. Normally, recycled paper comprises this layer, making it strong and flexible.
  
  
• Combination Reels: Some manufacturers use composite reels. These reels combine linerboard and medium materials, which allows the manufacturer to streamline processes.

Jumbo rolls are the large rolls converted into smaller rolls on a winder around a cardboard core. For printing and converting machines, the trend is to use the largest diameters possible to keep the splices and related waste to a minimum.

Availability, however, is a problem and depends upon the supplier mill’s trimming capacity. Shifting to heavier, larger rolls impacts the entire supply chain because they require handling equipment that has corresponding dimensions.

Logistically, handling of jumbo rolls and super rolls requires highly skilled people and special equipment. To prevent damage to the rolls and wrapper, application of the correct compression is essential. When handling jumbo rolls, operators should place three or four pad clamps in the centre of the roll. Clamping the roll incorrectly or out of centre can cause out-of-roundness.

Operators are working with large and bulky but delicate materials. Incorrect paper reel handling or rough handling may tear the paper, cause the core to collapse or create wrinkles in the paper and damage it.

Safety

Safety is paramount when handling any material. The size and weight of reels makes them a challenge for paper, steel cable and packaging manufacturers to move around safely. Unsecured rolls pose the additional safety hazard of toppling over and injuring someone.

Inefficient Workflows

Manual handling of reels is likely to slow down movement of them around a facility.

Correct clamping force is essential for effective roll handling. Too much force can damage the core, deform it or cause out-of-roundness, whereas too little can cause the roll to slide, telescope, fall, suffer damage or injure someone badly. Verify the hydraulic pressure of the forklift, which is applied to the clamping cylinders of roll camps, and fine-tune if necessary. If the forklift hydraulic pressure is too high, the clamp could damage the paper roll.

When loading a trailer with paper rolls, the weight distribution must be in accordance with the maximum axle load and the vehicle or trailer type. The floor must be strong enough to support a loaded forklift when loading and unloading. When planning the load, keep below the maximum weight per transportation unit.

Whether you’re loading or unloading large lying rolls, always use wedges to stop them rolling around. Always use appropriate roll handling equipment and never roll the reels around or push them on the floor of the vehicle or anywhere.

Never position the rolls so that they align with other rolls. If the weather is damp, place protective paper under the rolls to prevent water damage, but never use protective paper and anti-slip material at the same time.

When unloading lying rolls, never let a roll in the second tier fall down. Avoid removing wedges forcefully.

You can find out more about loading trailers and securing loads safely in our Ultimate Guide to Safe Loading and Unloading of Vehicles.

The Skate and Track System consists of roller skates that run in specially sunken tracks and is installed into the trailer or container floor. When the handle is connected (by simply pushing down), the load
is raised. When raised, the load is 'live' and can be freely pushed up and down the length of the tracks from a trailer into the loading dock.  It’s become a go-to solution in the Paper Industry.

As the industry has evolved and demands have increased, we’ve redesigned the system to accommodate higher loads. Our Heavy-Duty Max skate can lift as much as 3,500 kilos per pair of skates and has a lifting height of 19 millimetres. The system is available with either aluminium or steel skates.

The beauty of this system is that operators can push the load manually into the trailer or container, or pull the reels from them, easily, thanks to the moving skate. No forklift needs to enter to transport the reels, which makes the process much safer.

Automated Loading Solutions such as our Moving Floor Conveyor, enable operators to load trailers and containers more precisely.

Forklifts don’t have to enter the cargo space and then, restricted by this limited space, manoeuvre the paper reels, pallets, machinery or other goods for transportation around it.

They merely place the items onto the system and the system takes over the heavy lifting into the trailer, allowing the operator to position the goods more precisely and safely.

Originally, we designed our Skate and Track with a steel skate to handle heavy loads, but not all loads weigh more than 1,000 kilos and need such a heavy-duty skate.

Enter the aluminium skate, a lightweight skate (7kg), which is 5kg lighter than the original steel skate and can safely lift a payload of up to 1,600 kilos. This helps ease the strain on the operator when manually moving the skate and load on and off trucks.

The heavy-duty max skate is a steel skate that offers a lifting height of 19.5 mm and can handle up to 3,500 kilos per pair. It’s specially designed for handling paper reels and cardboard ones. Operators in the newspaper and packaging industries have been using it for decades. The skates are also a useful alternative for use in vehicles where forklifts aren’t suitable.

If you’re using a lightweight vehicle with aluminium tracks, there are special heavy-duty max skates that have side rollers.

Transtar Group, a leading German contract logistics company, has embraced the transformative power of our innovative Skate & Track system to speed up their paper reel loading across Europe.

Sergej Pautschkow, Managing Director, Transtar Group, commented, "Our Joloda Transport trailers have proven to be invaluable assets in our pursuit of helping our clients achieve their business goals."

"With the efficiency, reliability, and versatility of the Joloda Skate & Track system, we've not only optimised our logistics but also earned the trust of our clients. It's a partnership that reflects our commitment to excellence and the success of our clients' endeavours."

The Skate and Track may be a go-to for manual paper roll handling, but it can handle much more than these items. You can move heavy machinery, pallets, drums and slip sheets, all by using the Skate and Track.

If you’re working with mixed freight, such as reels and standard pallets, the system is ideal.

Our Skate and Track System allows you to transfer paper rolls and other reels smoothly from trailers to your facilities. The system features a handle that you can use for pushing and pulling loads, making them easier to move, and is equipped with different lifting heights so you can move loads of different weights, from 1,600 to 3,500 kilos.

Transforming Logistics Operations for Maximum Efficiency

Implementation of the Skate and Track System will change how you operate. The system reduces the amount of people necessary in loading, freeing workers up for other tasks, and allows you to load and unload trailers much quicker.

Besides operators in the Paper Industry, you’ll find operators in the Newsprint, Food and Beverage, and Automotive industries all use the Skate and Track

Paper Manufacturing Plants and Distribution Hubs

Paper manufacturing plants and distribution hubs, which must work daily with large paper reels and face the hazards associated with them, will find the Skate and Track System invaluable in their operations. The equipment will boost their logistics by allowing operators to handle a higher volume in the same amount of time. More importantly, they’ll do so safely.

Businesses within the manufacturing, packaging and shipping industries can all implement the Skate and Track and other Joloda Hydraroll reel handling equipment into their operations.

One client of ours, BMW, has been doing so for more than 10 years at its manufacturing and assembly plant in Germany. The system has lent a massive hand in unloading exhausts, bumpers and other car components in their loading docks for the JIT process at the plant.

It’s no coincidence that we’re as successful as we are in the industry. We’ve been providing businesses in a wide range of industries with loading systems for over 60 years. The Skate and Track System, which won the British Design Award in 1977, has been around more than 50 years and is one of the most popular loading systems in the world.

Trusted by Paper, Packaging and Print Giants Worldwide

Operators in paper, packing and print industries worldwide, especially in Europe and the Americas, have called upon us for paper roll handling equipment and are all loading and unloading their paper rolls and pallets more efficiently and safely now.

Since we started manufacturing the Skate and Track in 1962, the system has lightened the load for more than 275,000 customers worldwide. In Japan, more than 1,000 trucks are unloading with the Skate and Track System.

We offer our reel handling systems and paper roll handling equipment in standard dimensions, but that doesn’t mean you have to buy them and implement them as they are. As paper reel handling equipment specialists, we can customise your system’s dimensions and more to suit your needs.

We’re always on hand to advise you about our products. To find out more about our Skate and Track System or any of our other paper roll handling equipment or loading systems, send us an email at hello@joloda.com, book a free loading assessment, or get in touch via our contact form. We’ll be happy to support you and help you choose the right reel handling system for your operations.