The
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times purchased Tiger Marketing and Sales Inc.’s novel
conveyor system that uses stationary rollers rather than the prevailing
roller-top design dominating most newspaper mailrooms.
The
Times (daily, 325,623; Sunday, 409,726) next month will begin installing Tiger
MSI’s GTC, or gentle touch conveyor, replacing 18 lines of conventional lines,
according to Mike Galloway, the Times’ press and distribution manager.
“We
researched the new design, talked to some current users and visited a user
site,” Galloway said. “We were impressed.”
The
GTC, released late last year, employs a design that uses a bed of free-mounted
rollers that are individually driven by a patented clutch assembly. Product
moves only when the product is present, causing each roller to rotate around a
moving internal shaft. The rollers can be stopped even as the internal shafts
continue to operate.
The
conveyor’s speed, meanwhile, can be adjusted to match the throughput of
various stackers attached to the end of the line.
The
design forgoes traditional chain-driven conveyors and in the process eliminates
paper damage, jams, static buildup and injuries, claimed Pete Medina, Tiger
president.
“The
focus of our design was to create a new roller conveyor that would be safe and
simple to operate and maintain. I believe this new conveyor does exactly
that,” he said.
GTC’s
design also eliminates the bottom set of rollers as well as brush rollers at
either end of the line, benefits particularly attractive to the Times, Galloway
said.
“Our
maintenance staff also believes the upkeep and any repairs will be easier to get
to and much quicker to make.”
In
addition to the new conveyors, the Times is adding cart loaders and other
associated distribution equipment as part of an 18-month project to expand its
dock and packaging facilities.
The
Times follows a handful of other newspapers installing the GTC, which include La
Opinion in Los Angeles, the Hawk Eye in Burlington, Iowa, and the Dubuque (Iowa)
Telegraph Herald. The Forum in Fargo, N.D., was the first paper to buy the
system.
