Automatic loader for open top trucks

Trucks don’t arrive when expected, or they all come at once, and suddenly it’s all hands on deck trying to get the shipment loaded and dispatched. In the confusion, it’s easy for people to get hurt.

Alternatively, there can be a period of total inactivity while you are waiting for trucks to turn up. With nowhere for the pallets to go, the whole system backs up.

We’ve developed the VENTOMATIC® FFL to address all these issues. As a totally mechanized system, it only requires one member of staff to supervise – and no manual intervention. It works just like a regular forklift truck to move stacks or pallets from the palletizer to the truck for dispatch – or to the warehouse, if the bags are staying in storage. But a clever push-pull mechanism and overhead rails enable the whole action to happen automatically. The intelligent system can even scan the parameters of the truck to calculate the best loading configuration – and it makes continual checks throughout and between loading cycles to ensure that everything is working optimally. 

Of course, there are times when you want to keep running your packer and palletizer to top up your warehouse stock. The VENTOMATIC® FFL can still be used in this situation to take stacked or palletized loads from the palletizer to a new position from where they can be moved around the warehouse in the usual way. And when you want to load that warehouse stock onto a truck, you just move the stacks back into position and the VENTOMATIC® FFL will take care of the rest. Think of it as a flexible system that works equally well in-line, or independently.

A truck-sized footprint

Space is always a consideration in industrial processes. Warehouses typically have an enormous footprint – not just for storage, but to give room for forklifts to manoeuvre. The VENTOMATIC® FFL doesn’t take up much more space than the trucks you are loading, yet you can achieve higher loading capacities than with traditional truck loading. With a simple steel structure, requiring minimal civil works, most of the machine sits above the truck – which is why we call it a Flying Fork Lift! This small footprint saves you a lot of space and makes it very easy to integrate the FFL into existing installations. And of course, the interface with other VENTOMATIC® equipment – such as the POLIMAT® palletizer – is seamless.

The truck enters the loading bag and stops in position while the FFL scans the dimensions of the truck and calculates the loading parameters, including the number of stacks, layers per stack, bags per tonne, etc. The FFL then picks up the stack, moves into position, and places the stack onto the truck. Once loading is complete, the FFL returns to its standby position and the loaded truck leaves the bay,

For smooth, fast installation, the VENTOMATIC® FFL is delivered pre-wired, pre-assembled and pre-tested. There are no significant civil structures and commissioning is simple – so you can start making the most of your new system as soon as possible.