Case Study - Productivity Increase and Reduced Costs for APPE

APPE site in Wrexham

APPE is the leading manufacturer of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic preforms, bottles and containers in the UK. They supply some of the biggest household brands and have a presence in a wide range of markets including food & beverage, household and personal care.

Challenges - APPE had a number of operational challenges to solve: 

• Manual Reporting – time consuming and complicated
• Product Quality - need to consistently ensure process control
• Minimise Downtime – identify cause and faults

Goals - Industrial IT was specified to achieve the following goals

• Overall Control of Shop Floor Processes
• Improve Production Visibility
• Use and Analyse Shop Floor Data
• Improve Plant Performance

Solutions - We worked with APPE to identify a solution to solve challenges and meet their goals: 

• Wonderware InTouch – to visualise the production process
• Wonderware Historian – collect real-time manufacturing data
• Wonderware Information Server – share and display information gathered
• Managed Platform – preventative monitoring of the SCADA system
• Wonderware Customer First Support – access to latest software versions & technically trained engineers 

Tim Manuel, APPE

Results: 

- 30% increase in output -  without additional resource

- Reduction in manual shift inspections from 2 to 1

- Improved product quality and reduction in spoilage rate

- Several new business opportunities 

Read the full case study on our website here

Thanks to APPE for their help.