Established in 1990, Equalizer Systems manufactures electric and hydraulic lifting/leveling systems for a wide range of transportation equipment. With a 100,000 sq ft facility in Elkhart, IN -- the heart of the RV manufacturing industry -- the company manufactures from one-point to four-point leveling systems with manual and automatic capabilities, serving markets ranging from motor home/RVs, horse and cargo, and motor sports to commercial/specialty marketplaces.
The company's shipping department distributes locally, across the country, and even to global sources. However, the company's shipping operations needed to be streamlined to meet pickup and delivery deadlines for this extremely fast-paced industry. And even more important, overall labor cost needed to be brought more in line. (Pictured, hydraulic pump assembly at Equalizer Systems.)
The Challenge: Inefficiencies in Pallet Preparation Process
The final packaging of equipment via hand-wrapping and/or banding presented many problems, including extensive labor hours, as well as safety concerns due to employees manually reaching under and over the palleted load. Delivery quality issues in ensuring that pallets were wrapped tightly enough became a concern as the company aimed for complete customer satisfaction, better guaranteeing arrival condition of its products and reducing damaged good claims.
The Solution: Orbital Stretch Wrap Technology
Equalizer Systems turned to Yellow Jacket, LLP (Marion, IN) and its orbital stretch wrap technology, purchasing an 87 in. Standard Manual Yellow Jacket 110 Orbital Stretch Wrap Machine to help secure standard, oversized, or odd-shaped palletized loads right on the lift truck's forks -- without using bands and other types of strapping. The loads are wrapped and secured by a horizontally positioned stretch-wrap dispenser that moves around and under a load as the Yellow Jacket 110 is manually advanced across the length of the load by a single operator. The company's purchase provided solutions for their labor productivity, safety, and "ensured delivery quality" challenges, resulting in a rapid return on investment with the benefits of minimized labor costs and increased productivity, ease of operation, and damage prevention.
Equalizer Systems places the contents of the final leveling unit assembly and its related components into a specialized cardboard shipper box, which is then secured onto a pallet. With the Yellow Jacket 110, Equalizer Systems' shipping department has streamlined what was previously a 10+ minute/2-3 person job into a 2 minute/single person task. Now consider a volume of a few dozen pallets every single day.
"We had multiple people preparing products for shipment, trying to do what the Yellow Jacket does for us," says John Hill, shipping manager for Equalizer Systems. "That was lifting the pallet up, pulling the stretch wrap over, handing it underneath to another guy, and then pulling it back over the top of the load, and doing it a dozen or more times to finish the pallet . . . a very time-consuming process."
Getting the Job Done Right
Perfect for the company's growing business volumes and "need for speed," the Yellow Jacket 110 provided a way to minimize labor costs and increase shipping department productivity. Equalizer Systems quickly realized return on investment.
"I would say it paid for itself the first day we got it due to reduced headaches (due to worrying about getting the product out day to day) and backaches/injuries from manual operations," Hill states. "And this is important to us mainly because of how quick we have grown . . . and the expectation of continued growth trends. It freed us up as far as manpower, and that's saved us a lot of money in labor costs . . . probably somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars annually when considering both labor and shipping problems." (Shown here, Equalizer leveling system installation into long bed truck chassis.)
Shipping Products the Easy, Safe, Secure Way
Equalizer Systems also enjoys the ease of operation of its Yellow Jacket 110.
"All that is needed is a quick training session to learn how to dial in the settings for machine operation. Anyone can be trained to use it," Hill comments on operator training.
"It is just a matter of positioning the load in the proper spot within the machine, tying the plastic wrap to the skid to start the process, pushing the 'go' buttons, and letting it do its job."
And the Yellow Jacket 110 has completely eliminated safety hazards associated with hand wrapping. No longer is it necessary to reach and go under the pallet; the machine secures the load right on the forks of the forklift, locking the load to the pallet, providing secure, safe pack-to-ship performance.
Loads Wrapped "Just Right" with Automatic Tension Control
When it comes to consistent quality of the finished wrap, the Yellow Jacket 110 gives the company what it needs in secured delivery performance.
"We have a near 100%+ success rate of securely wrapped deliveries since using the Yellow Jacket," Hill, pictured here with the machine, states. "Our shipments go out nice and tight; we don't have to worry about any more calls on product damage claims. We truly count on it to go from here to there -- wherever that may be -- and it getting there without incident."
Hill commented that the automatic tension control feature on the Yellow Jacket 110 is what really makes the difference for his operation's success, as well as customer satisfaction. Equalizer Systems' shipments go out in boxes on pallets, and the automatic tension control enables employees to wrap the loads as tightly as needed, saving space and creating more shipment-efficient cubical loads.
"I like it because you can utilize the pallet by putting a little bit more on it, and know that the shipment is secured directly to the pallet . . . it is a good feeling," states Hill. "I think our customers appreciate that too; if they have to set something outside we have got the wrap on it, and it can stay out in the weather (rain or snow) for a while before they bring it in. This is another great advantage, especially with local delivery on open trucks and trailers."
