Bavaria

Bavaria NV is one of the oldest and biggest breweries of The Netherlands, serving an international sales area. At the headquarters in Lieshout, Ancra Systems delivered and installed a chain conveyor dock system, allowing fluent and efficient shuttle transport between the beer production facility and the newly built distribution centre.

The system is designed for automatic loading and unloading. When the truck has docked, a guide frame with rollertracks slides over pneumatically between the stationary system and the trailer to prevent pallet deflection. Pallets with mixed sizes (1200x800 and 1200x1000) are transported with the long side leading. At the control unit the speed of the stationary chain conveyor can be varied from approx. 4 to 8 m/min. At the end of the chain conveyor system the pallets can be placed or picked, dependent on whether the system is used for truck loading or unloading respectively. The chain conveyor system has a length of 14.8 metres and is equipped with swing support plates, assuring proper alignment of the pallets when the system is used for truck loading. 

Optical sensors enable index loading/unloading of the stationary system. The chain conveyor system is mounted flush with the concrete floor, therefore trailer loading/unloading with the use of a fork-lift truck has been made possible, without damaging the system in the case of an emergency. The automatic truck loading system provided is a good illustration of the cost savings and increased utilization that the Ancra chain conveyor system can deliver to the FMCG industry.