From time to time the textile industry is witness to innovations that make everyone sit up and take notice. Indo Texnology’s automatic cone packing system is one such disruptive innovation that has made the Packing process and data more reliable and secure for the mill management. A team from The Textile Magazine visited Birin Spinning Mills, located in Avinashi, near Tirupur to see how the automatic cone packing system is helping the mill to improve on the quality, efficiency and productivity fronts.
For a long time packing has been the Achilles heel of textile mills. “Not any more “, says R.Muthu Venkatesh, the young Technical Director of Birin. “ Earlier when packing being done manually, we used to face a lot of challenges. Weight accuracy was one. It was also a labor-intensive process, where there was always a chance of human error creeping in.” Thanks to Indo Texnology’s automatic cone packing system, all that is history.
Established in 2003, Birin Spinning Mills, has always been known for its focus on automation. “Around 2018 we started on an automation spree. We changed our ringframes to autodoffer ringframes. Gradually we added bobbin transport system, spindle monitoring system and roving stop motion. The addition of the automatic cone packing system was the next step,” he said.
Muthu Venkatesh highlighted the advantages of the automatic cone packing system:
- Weight Accuracy: Weight accuracy is maintained. They system will ensure that the bags aren’t packed with deficit nor excess weight.
- No Mix-ups and defective cones: The AI based cone inspection system ensures that there are no count mix- ups and no more packing of defective cones. This impacts the customer satisfaction directly.
- Increased efficiency: The system has automated the packing process, is less labor-intensive and saves time. One of the major benefits of the new system is the reduction in labor. Previously, 5 workers per shift were needed for the process in the mill. Now, the number has come down to 3.
- Ease of operation – No need for trained/highly skilled workers: Semi-skilled workers are sufficient to operate the system. Earlier, packing used to be the most critical department requiring educated and trustworthy personnel, has been simplified. Now, even a semi-literate worker can manage the process with basic supervision, as the system ensures weight and accuracy automatically.
- Package appearance: Unlike the case with the manual system where the packing used to appear disorganized, it now looks aesthetic and professional.
“The packing standard has changed and it makes a big difference in the market. As they say, we serve it on a Golden Platter to our customers”.
Reliability and ROI
Muthu Venkatesh is impressed by the reliability of the system. “I have full confidence in it. For example, when checking cone tips, the system automatically adjusts, ensuring everything runs smoothly.”
Giving his take on the ROI from using the system, he says, “In many places, labor costs are the primary factor for calculating ROI, but this system has shown that ROI can also come from weight accuracy. Remember, even a 20-gram excess in one package can cost Rs.20, 000/- per month. This systems ensures elimination of such costs.
“More importantly, my customer is getting satisfied and I’m happy with this investment.
Especially during the transition phase of experienced people going out, we faced problems in manual packing.
Now, we’ve don’t face any such issues and we’ve been receiving positive feedbacks from our customers about zero mix-ups, defect-free cones, and weight accuracy.
So, this Diwali will not be a problem for me!”
24×7 Aftersales Support
One of the key reasons for Indo Texnology’s automatic cone packing system scaling up the popularity charts in the textile industry has been its aftermarket support services. Vouching for it, Muthu Venkatesh says,” Their service support is available 24 x7. They are constantly monitoring the system from their office and conduct remote troubleshooting, if required. With remote diagnostics, small problems can be resolved without the need for an engineer to visit. The system runs smoothly, with minimal maintenance. “
Future Collaboration
“We plan to continue collaborating with Indo Texnology. Moving forward we are planning to add their automatic cone transport system to further improve our automation quotient,” stated Muthu Venkatesh, signing off.
