Tetley is Britain's favourite cuppa. Their entire range of teas are blended and packed at their Eaglescliffe, Teeside factory where output is running at 50 million tea bags per week!

Customer requirements

During 2006, Tetley decided to improve efficiency of the Decaffeinated Tea handling, by taking delivery of teas in 500 kg bags (FIBCs) instead of 25kg sacks. For transportation efficiency, the big bags are delivered to EAglescliffe stacked 2 high on a single pallet. Some 11 bags need to be emptied a day in a factory that operates 24/5.

The teas have to be discharged into the rigid containers, into which the 25kg bags used to be tipped, because these containers act as tumble blenders then dock with the packing lines.

Spiroflow solutions

Even though forklift trusks are used to deliver the loaded pallets to the discharger, we supplied one of our Type 6 Big Bag Dischargers - which comes complete with its own bag hoisting system. Once the loops of the upper bag are attached to a lifting frame, the bag can be hoisted up, traversed across and then lowered into position on the discharger leaving the forklift to undertake other duties in the meantime. Similarly, when the first bag is empty and returned to the ground, the lower bag can be installed into the discharger.

To ensure the dust-free transfer of tea, the T6 Discharger is furnished with a containment cabinet in which the nesk of hte big bag can be untied - once if has been 'strangled' by a pair of pneumatically powered Vee shaped closure bars. With the interlocked dust cabinet access door closed, the Vee closure bars can be opened to allow flow to commence from the bag, through the central feed spout to facilitate the escape of air displaced from the container as it fills with tea.

Both the dust cabinet and the docking device are connected to the factory's contral dust collection system. The means no escape of dust into the atmosphere during filling of the rigid containers not each time the cabinet doors are opened to untie or retie the neck of a big bag.

The Spiroflow Discharger incorporates a pneimatically operated, telescopic docking connection, which makes a dust-tight connection with the inlet of the container below. An easily removable magnet is fitted above the docking system to trap any tramp metal that may have become mingled with the tea at the point of origin.