Habasit America Blog

What's in a name?

Ever wonder what's behind the Habasit logo and name? Well, here's a little history for you. 

The company name combines the first letters of the family name, “Habegger”, and the town where the company was formed “Basel”, while the ending comes from synthetic material names used in manufacturing conveyor belts, such as “Bakelit”.

The logo symbolizes different stages of our conveyor products. On the right hand side, the different sections indicate the different layers of our product in the beginning stages. Conveyor belts are in general manufactured with a conveying side, in the center a traction layer and a reverse side; the green and black curves represent this structure. The circular form at the top right side indicates the coils of our finished products. 

The green of our logo was chosen from the Habasit founder Fernand Habegger in 1946 in order to differentiate Habasit among the masses of other company logos. Most logos back then were mainly red and blue. Still today, green is rather seldom used as a logo color. Black is used to symbolize the traction layer which usually is embedded in the center of each conveyor belt and in reality, is mostly always black.

So there you have it, how the Habasit logo and name came to be. 

 

Conveyors: Are They Just For Industrial Use?

When most people think of conveyor belt systems, what comes to mind is a heavy duty belt used in some kind of industrial or machine fashion. Things like airport luggage management systems, package sorting and transport, and grocery store check-out lanes all jump to mind. While these are certainly common uses for conveyors, are they the only ones? For many businesses, the answer is no.

Boiling Conveyor Systems Down To Essentials

At their heart, conveyors are designed to do one thing: move things. The way in which they do this can be quite varied depending on what it is that needs to be moved, how heavy it is, and how far it has to go. This part is the same whether it's tons of rock or a simple product. What differs is the scale on which it moves things. For example, it takes a lot more force and a lot more power to move a ton of rock than it does a small product purchased at a grocery store. Although these two applications will likely look quite different, the same technology is at work.

Conveyor Belt Systems Reduce Employee Workload

The goal of any kind of conveyor is to save a step for the humans. If there is no conveyor to carry the item from point A to point B, it must be carted around by hand. For some smaller things this is not an issue, but for large items or items which are frequently moved along the same path it can become tedious and annoying. This kind of scenario is among the most promising for some type of conveyor assistance. If there is a single direction of travel along a path with no deviation, there is no real reason why a conveyor can't handle that transport better than a human.

As a result, people are able to focus on tasks better suited for their natural abilities. Rather than simply carting things around, they can add detail, refine designs, or interact with others. All of these are things that conveyors cannot so readily offer. Moving heavy objects, on the other hand, is something they can do with ease.

Opportunities Abound

The possible industry applications are quite numerous for conveyor systems; bakeries, candy manufacturing, newspapers and magazine printing, even ATM machines have a conveyor belt that gives and takes money. And the opportunities grow every time a new development in belt technology arises. Remember, these belts and related technologies are not just for industrial applications, conveyor systems are widely found in many different industries and have abundant uses.

 

Habasit and the Super Bowl

Habasit has a small connection to the Super Bowl this weekend...gearmotors! Rossi gearmotors, a Division of Habasit Group, operate the retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium. When the stadium was built in 2008, the retractable roof was the first of it's kind. It's unique two panel moving roof design is supported on five rails. The opening area is 176,400 square feet and it takes about 9 - 11 minutes to fully open. 

So what does it take to open such a large structure? You would think the single largest engine in the world! But no, it only takes 128 motors and a total of 480 horsepower to move the roof. There are 32 motors on each side of the two panels and each motor is 7.5 horsepower. That puts them somewhere between a push mower (5hp) and a riding mower (10hp). 

Both Lucas Oil Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium have a retractable roof operated by Rossi gearmotors. 

How about that for some fun football trivia!

Habasit and hygienic go hand-in-hand

With the beginning of a new year always comes a new year of trade shows. As we have for at least the last 7 years, Habasit will again exhibit at the 2012 International Poultry Exposition in Atlanta, GA at the end of January. Make sure you stop by and visit us at booth #5159. The International Poultry Expo is the primary source of funding for the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, the world's largest and most active poultry organization. It represents the entire industry as an "All Feather" association. Membership includes producers and processors of broilers, turkeys, ducks, eggs, and breeding stock. Attendance for 2011 was 20,742 with the majority of those coming from facilities in Georgia. They are expecting a similar turnout for 2012.

Habasit will have on display several demo units for the industry, show casing our plastic modular belts and gearmotors. The Habasit HyCLEAN delivers outstanding reliability and cost-efficiency. The creation and maintenance of optimal hygiene conditions are among the greatest challenges faced by the food industry today, making hygienic design and ease of cleaning crucial for equipment and components used in hygiene-sensitive food processes. Conveyor belts have an important role to play as they are often in direct contact with food.

The Habasit HyCLEAN plastic modular belt family was developed to improve hygiene conditions and cleaning procedures in food processing areas. The HyCLEAN package includes a patented sprocket and a 2” flat top module, both with a unique hygienic design.

It also includes a patented modular CIP (Clean-in-Place) system for plastic modular and other synthetic belts. The Habasit HyCLEAN CIP enables faster and more reliable cleaning cycles and is adjustable to specific application dimensions and process set-ups. The system works even with low water pressure and allows precise positioning of water jets therefore delivering substantial reductions in water use compared with other CIP systems. Late December 2011 EHEDG (the European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group) awarded the HyCLEAN a Certificate of Compliance. Habasit is the first belt manufacturer to receive EHEDG certification for one of its solutions.

For more information about the HyCLEAN CIP or any of the other solutions that Habasit has to offer the poultry industry, make sure you stop by booth #5159 at IPE. If you won’t be in town for the show, that’s ok, give us a call. We’d be happy to answer any of your questions.

Toll free 1-800-458-6431 or email info.america@us.habasit.com 

See the video here

 

 

Reflections on 2011

Wow! Is it already December? How the time flies by when you’re having fun. 2011 has been a great year for Habasit; and you too I hope. It’s been a great year for the manufacturing sector overall with record highs almost each and every month. We love to hear that! We’ve also seen record highs within the conveyor industry on orders booked. Conveyors do run the world! (At least I like to think so J). Projects for overnight carriers, distribution centers and even airports have seen a significant increase in 2011. A large conveyor OEM will be adding 200 jobs over the next three years and Kaman Industrial is building a new facility in Milwaukee to accommodate the growing rubber business they have seen. Conveyors are ultimately such a large part of everything in our world; it’s great to see the increase in some of the different industries we service.

2011 has brought about major changes here at Habasit. We switched over to a new ERP system in July (and we thank all of you for your patience in this process). While we experienced some growing pains as part of this integration, overall it has been successful and brought about many positive things for our customers and for us as a company.

We also welcomed a new General Manager to Habasit in September, Bob Logston. Long time industry man Harry Cardillo retired after 30 years of service. We welcomed Bob into our family with his expertise on International business and we look forward to the years ahead with him at the forefront of Habasit America.

As 2011 comes to a close, we want to thank all of you for your support and we look forward to a prosperous 2012! As you get ready to track Santa as he makes his way around the world, we want to remind you of our Customer Care Holiday Hours. Happy Holidays!!

Friday, 12-23-11

Customer Care Hours Modified - 7:30AM to 12:00PM

Production Closed

 

Monday, 12-26-11

Offices & Production Closed

 

Tuesday, 12-27-11 thru Friday, 12-30-11

Normal Customer Care Hours - 7:30AM to 5:30PM

Normal Production Hours

 

Monday, 1-02-12

Offices & Production Closed

Habasit does it's part to help prevent food recalls

Habasit HyCLEAN CIP System

According to the US Food and Drug Administration’s own website there have been 30 food product recalls in the 30 days prior to this article and 50% of those recalls are reported to be the result of contamination by microorganisms.The statistics further show that about 48 million Americans (1 in 6) get sick each year as a result of food borne illness and of the 128,000 hospitalized; 3,000 die as a result.

In January of this year President Obama signed into lawthe U.S Food Safety Modernization Act that shifts the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it.The conveyor belt industry has its part to play by developing products and services to assist the food community with the ability to process food on conveyor belts that have been designed for that purpose. Habasit has taken this initiative one step further by developing a belt cleaning system called the HyCLEAN CIP (Clean In Place) system which further compliments the already available HyCLEAN conveyor belt and HyCLEAN sprocket.

This automated system provides the processor with a method for efficiently and reliably cleaning their conveyor belts. The system eliminates the risks of manual procedures and ensures repeatable microbiological belt cleaning results. In addition, it supports sustainable processing by reducing water consumption on conveyor belt cleaning by up to 50% combined with controlling the use of detergents. As a result of extensive development and testing, the system has applied for certification by EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group). The CIP system has received testimonials from end users that have experienced significant savings in water and labor while providing consistent and effective cleaning. 

At Habasit we strive to make the process easier for you, the user. Food saftey has always been a high priority for us and we will continue to develop new products that exceed the standards of the industry. 

 

You get more than just a conveyor belt . . .

Wherever you are and at any time, Habasit’s key objective is to offer superior solutions for its customers by staying true to its guiding principles!

Habasit treasures the word “quality” and what it means to its customers. In the eye of the customer, any product or service is ultimately compared with the “best” that customer has previously encountered, or something they have heard from other sources. For instance, let’s say that a person stays at a luxury hotel like the Ritz Carlton; well, any other may not live up to the customers quality of standards and automatically receive a low comparison in the customers eyes.

You see, customers with selective taste constantly explore the upper limits of quality in every aspect of their lives. Error and defect-free delivery of a product or service is what a customer expects from a company. Some may like to call it the, “right the first time” approach, which is an important aspect of quality. This simply means that the product or service should match the customer’s specifications and requirements the first time and will perform as guaranteed and without exception.

Another essential guiding principal that Habasit endeavors on is service and support. Habasit promotes solutions, not products and with that being said, it is key to discover what the customer’s needs are and then sell them the solution. Another key method Habasit practices is partnerships, not sales. This method is used for emerging maintainable lasting relationships. If customers see you as a “product-pusher” instead of a trusted advisor then they are not going to continue a relationship with you. Customer perception and buying decisions are based on conscious as well as unconscious drivers.

The last and most essential guiding principal that Habasit exhibits is innovation through its products and services. This guiding principal permits Habasit to foster growth and keep business flexibility. Our state-of-the-art facilities help us achieve just that. We all see other companies that are innovative and we wonder how can we pull off the same thing? You see, innovation is a new match between a solution and a need. The innovation can be in the solution, in the need, or in the match. This simply means that this “new match” results in a specific market, leading to a demand for the solution. Customers want to engage in solutions they perceive to aid their particular needs best.

Habasit has an extensive network of distributors, dedicated sales force, and customer care representatives that are ready to serve our customers! Our guiding principals have helped us attain and maintain our positive partnerships through the years.

 
  

Growing pains lead to improvement

Change – to make the future course of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left along.

Change is inevitable. Change is good. Change can bring about better processes for you, our customer; as well as for us. While change can sometimes be painful and there might even be some growing pains along the road of change, change is good.  

As many of you know we are currently going through some growing pains as we change over to a new ERP system, Epicor.  We know that many of you are experiencing these growing pains along with us and we appreciate your patience as we work through them. We have an entire team of people working daily to solve these pains so we can return to a level of customer service that you deserve and expect from us. Our expectation levels are even higher than yours, and we know that we can deliver once we have worked through these unexpected issues.

A high level of customer service, quick and reliable shipping times, quote request, order acknowledgements, etc. are all very important factors in our business. We know how much you rely on the small things that we offer you that others do not. And we know that our new system will deliver all this and much more. We appreciate your patience during this time of change. Please feel free to contact us at any time with any issues that you feel need to be addressed or are being overlooked. We operate according to a philosophy of innovation and technological superiority, constantly adapting to change so that our customers’ needs can be met in the best possible way.     

 

Habasit America Optimistic for the Remainder of 2011

CEO Harry Cardillo speaks about the conveyor belting economy and how Habasit America has marketed tremendously from their results. Cardillo also addresses how 2010 was a record year for Habasit America and 2011 is already exceeding performance. Cardillo recognizes the problems associated with the curent economy's state and hope to increase market share throughout the end of the year!

 

Conveying: An Industrial Revolution

The History of the Conveyor Belt

We are big fans of the many different inventions that have allowed us to mass produce items in the way we do today. Anyone shopping at a local Wal-Mart for anything from strainers to rifles can count on discounted prices and availability due to the invention of processes which aid manufacturing.

One of the most important industrial inventions of any age has got to be the conveyor belt. You can find these important mechanisms in industries of all sorts, from pulp mills to auto manufacturing plants. They are an important piece of sheet metal fabricating equipment, plastic molding, and space age projects including the assembly of powerful pieces of equipment like the Hubble Space Telescope. If one were to guess at how the conveyor belt came to be invented, it would be fairly natural to assume they were just a progression on the concept of the assembly line. After all, the basic idea of any conveyor belt is to move a product on down the line to the next stop, where the product may be sorted or added to depending upon the operation.

In fact, though, the conveyor belt was actually invented before the assembly line was conceived. Remember, conveyor belts are just as much a method of transporting items from one spot to another as they are anything else. This meant that as early as the 19th century, various industries were using conveyor belts operated by hand cranks to take some of the labor out of moving pieces from one spot to another. The early 20th century would see this primitive form of conveyor belt evolve and become the intrinsic part of industry that it is today. This progression came in 1901, when the first conveyor belts which included the steel pulley and belt, were invented by Swedish company Sandvik. This innovation was followed up by the conveyor belts introduction into coal mines in 1905, which is seen as a revolutionizing step within the history of the mining sector. The belts allowed massive quantities of materials to be moved out of shafts and onto trucks without additional labor.

It was Henry Ford who married the concept of the assembly line and the conveyor belt in 1913. With the system in place to transport pieces from one station to the next, overhead costs fell and production rose accordingly. Detroit became the epicenter for the exploitation of this “new” industrial innovation.

Today, of course, conveyor belts are found in many industries from airplanes to laundry baskets, and thousands of other goods are produced with the aid of these inventions. Conveyor belts have continued their evolution as well. Today, the days of hand cranked belts are long gone. Instead, expect to find state of the art conveyors complete with electronic circuit design boards.

All in all, the conveyor belt can definitely be ranked as one of the most important industrial innovations of all time. They help speed up processes in virtually every industry, and are still one of the most cost effective pieces of equipment humans have ever employed.