Improving safety in a corrugated board production facility
Our sales engineer, Santiago Hidalgo, paid a visit to the Smurfit Westrock paper factory
Smurfit Westrock is a leading name in the global paper and packaging industry, renowned for its innovative solutions that cater to a wide range of market needs.
With facilities across the world, the company focuses on sustainably producing high-quality paper-based products, driving forward-thinking initiatives to reduce environmental impact while meeting the growing demand for packaging materials. As a paper factory in southern Germany, the Smurfit Westrock factory in St. Leon-Rot embodies the company’s commitment to operational excellence, quality control, and workplace safety.
Recently, our sales engineer, Santiago Hidalgo, paid a visit to the Smurfit Westrock facility to demonstrate how our interlock blocking devices enhance safety protocols on-site. For the past two years, we have proudly supplied the factory with our mechanical solutions designed to prevent unauthorized machine restarts and personnel entrapment, thereby protecting both personnel and equipment. During this visit, we filmed some videos showcasing our Alpha and Bravo devices in action.
How does it work
Alpha for doors
The Alpha interlock blocking device for hinged and sliding doors works with a safety key.
When a worker needs to enter the machine’s safety zone, they turn the key inside the Alpha, which rotates a blocking plate and prevents the door from closing.
Because the door stays open, the safety switches remain disconnected, and the machine cannot be restarted. Upon entering the safeguarded area, the worker removes the key from the Alpha and takes it with them, ensuring the blocking plate stays in position and the door remains open.
Without the key, no one can close the door or restart the machine, allowing the worker to perform tasks or maintenance without any risk of unintentional reactivation.
Bravo entrapment prevention for light curtains
The Bravo, photoelectric blocking device is designed to block light beams in a safety light curtain system.
By removing the safety key, the Bravo mechanism prevents the machine from resuming operation until the key is returned.
This simple yet robust design effectively eliminates the risk of unexpected restarts, protecting workers who are within the hazardous area.
Our partnership with Smurfit Westrock
Throughout our collaboration, Smurfit Westrock has proven to be an important and forward-thinking client, implementing these safety solutions with impressive results. Seeing the Alpha and Bravo devices in use under real production conditions was both rewarding and informative. Our team takes great pride in contributing to a safer workplace for this major player in the paper packaging sector.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with Smurfit Westrock and refining safety measures in the years to come. By combining sustainable paper production with top-tier safety protocols, the factory sets a high standard for responsible manufacturing—one that not only protects its workforce but also demonstrates a commitment to operational excellence.
