Q&A: Turnkey Factory Planning for the Carton Industry
Q: What is turnkey factory planning?
Li Yazhou: Professional factory construction planning is a science. Systematic factory planning is derived from the accumulation of successful experience and the continuous learning and summarization of optimized manufacturing processes. In the current market competition environment, factory construction planning is more of a strategy that helps enterprises clarify their market positioning. It provides a systematic new factory planning solution covering production objectives, equipment configuration selection, manufacturing processes, workflows, process facilities, installation and execution, technology, operation and management, so as to stabilize production quality and reduce production costs as well as investment and construction costs.
Q: What are the drawbacks of traditional factory construction planning?
Li Yazhou: At present, traditional planning in the market overlooks many details, which can be summarized into five major problems.
First, the lack of systematic overall planning, investigation and research, and data collection and analysis before investment and factory construction leads to bottlenecks in future production and operation costs, investment costs and manufacturing. Second, the lack of systematic and professional design for equipment layout, logistics routes, finished and semi-finished product areas, peripheral auxiliary equipment and workshops, process pipelines and electrical facilities results in a waste of costs and time. Third, some consulting and coaching enterprises only provide structural descriptions of the overall framework and concepts but lack the capability to implement factory construction. Fourth, turnkey factory logistics planning in the market only takes product system design into account and ignores the overall factory production layout planning. Fifth, the implementation of turnkey factory investment planning in terms of technology, operation and management is not in place.
Q: What specific impacts will the lack of professional turnkey factory planning have on enterprises?
Li Yazhou: The lack of professional factory construction planning will cause huge losses and project delays for enterprises. Let me introduce this with specific cases below.
Case 1: A Taiwan-funded group company in East China
Basic Information: The enterprise covers an area of 77,000 square meters with a total investment of 120 million RMB. Its business focuses on paperboards (40%) and cartons (60%), targeting customers in the electronics, FMCG and home appliance industries, with a projected annual output value of 72 million RMB.
Equipment Foundation: Severe horizontal errors in the foundation failing to meet equipment installation requirements led to rework. There were no standards for the primary and secondary grouting of equipment, resulting in a loss of 80,000 RMB and a 10-day project delay.Air Compressor: Unreasonable location planning required pipeline reconstruction and equipment relocation at a cost of 30,000 RMB plus design changes.Logistics in Flat Sheet Strapping Area: Improper configuration led to poor labor and production efficiency, with a related loss of 100,000 RMB.
Note: The above costs do not include the investment and operation costs of equipment in terms of technology, operation and management.
Case 2: A foreign-funded enterprise in North China
Basic Information: The enterprise covers an area of 15,000 square meters with a total investment of 10 million RMB. It mainly produces paperboards for customers in the electronics, food and shoe box industries, with a projected annual output value of 60 million RMB.
Equipment Foundation: Unprofessional civil construction and lack of adherence to the designs of professional engineers led to secondary rework, resulting in a loss of 70,000 RMB and a 9-day project delay. Hidden defects in subsequent equipment stability caused production troubles.Steam System: Unreasonable pipeline design led to production disruptions; pipeline redesign and construction cost 60,000 RMB.Shipping Dock: Unreasonable design caused handling waste; the ground foundation of the raw paper warehouse was insufficient in horizontal strength.Factory Power Supply: Insufficient load capacity expansion created electrical safety hazards, with a rectification cost of 150,000 RMB.Logistics System: Unreasonable design required modifications at a cost of 50,000 RMB.
Note: The above costs do not include the investment and operation costs of equipment in terms of technology, operation and management.
Q: What key contents does turnkey factory planning include and how to implement it?
Li Yazhou: First and foremost is market research: understand customer demands and investment objectives and directions based on industry types and target production capacity; select appropriate equipment for new factory planning according to customer conditions (environment, market, production speed, etc.); consider operational costs (power, adhesives, energy consumption, etc.) when selecting equipment to gain future competitive advantages; for old factories, the layout and equipment design for capacity expansion must meet process and site requirements.
Next is process planning: plan energy-saving equipment and processes in combination with customer demands; design and provide protection for equipment in terms of high temperature and high noise; consider the design and selection of peripheral auxiliary equipment (specifications, technical parameters, etc.); select equipment with the aim of reducing investment and operation costs.
Then comes workflow planning: conduct data prediction through the paperboard production process; optimize overall factory efficiency through systematic design of the entire production process including process design, capacity calculation and workflow analysis; design the space requirements for peripheral supporting equipment and define relevant precautions; cooperate with equipment suppliers and design institutes to make process design changes to meet customer demands.
Subsequently is professional design of process facilities: design energy-saving and emission-reduction patented steam systems; conduct professional planning of mechanical and electrical pipeline facilities for equipment processes (water, gas, wastewater, etc.); plan the factory's overall logistics conveying system including the waste paper handling system; design and plan the application of intelligent and energy-saving equipment products.
Followed by ensuring the implementation of equipment and facilities: factory building planning and design; construction specifications for infrastructure; project management for equipment installation; supervision and guidance for project execution.
Finally is technical training: establish standardized operating procedures; formulate standardized equipment technical specifications; set up KPI assessment for personnel (based on the functions of each position); build a statistical quality control system with complete data support.
We believe that through turnkey factory planning, carton factories will effectively enhance their competitiveness, and their future prospects are promising.
The carton industry is currently undergoing tremendous changes. As the industry evolves and technology advances by leaps and bounds, the state’s environmental policies for the carton sector are becoming increasingly stringent. For carton factories, this is not only a challenge but also a great opportunity. It is imperative to upgrade production technologies toward intelligence and automation, which will further enhance the core competitiveness of carton enterprises.
Bafang Intelligence is engaged in the R&D of intelligent cutting technologies for the packaging industry, and has always adhered to the spirit of "Persistent in Technological Revolution" to focus on equipment development. We have maintained a high level of attention to the development of the carton industry, and let us now explore the future path of the industry together.
