Is there any Value to Granulating in-house?
Over the years, the urge and need to create sustainable supply chains has increased in most manufacturing industries. Many industries involved in manufacturing have at one point considered the idea of granulating in-house. This brings up the question of the value they stand to gain by introducing in-house granulating to their business.
In terms of getting value from Granulating in-house, there are several factors worth mentioning. These factors mainly involve industries that are focused on bottles and packaging. Industries like this are mostly concerned about meeting their customer demands which often prompt them to include recycled materials.
For industrial manufacturers of recyclable products, granulating in-house ensures high-quality feedstock, reduces costs of waste management, and improves the rate of recovery. However, this may seem like a great strategy to help save costs but few factors contradict this idea.
Factors That Validify Outsourcing Granulation Of Materials
Cost Of Operation
Like many other industrial types of machinery, in-house granulators run on three-phase electricity. This is not only a huge cost on the business, it can also generate opportunity cost as the industry expands. Maintenance and replacement granulator blades and granulator blade sharpening for dull blades are things to take into account, and also other parts of the machine generate costs as well.
Cost Of The Granulating Machine or Equipment
Before starting in-house Granulating in your industry, there has to be a considerable amount of cash needed to purchase the machine. Purchasing handling equipment, bag-fillers, extractors, and cyclones will also incur additional costs. Also, the cost of repairs and maintenance will add to the costs.
Cost Of Labour For Granulating in-house.
Labour is needed to effectively run an in-house granulating machine. This will require one or more full-time staff to spend long hours operating and running the machine. The cost of labour in this case is solely dependent on the capacity and size of the in-house granulators. Regarding capacity, it is most difficult for in-house granulation to produce more than an outside Granulating service. An expert recycling service like Saturn Machine and Knives will granulate in one day, as much as in-house Granulating can generate in one week.
Value Of Floor Space Required
It’s no surprise that a machine for granulating large amounts of material should take up large floor space. Sometimes, this space taken up by the machine can be used for more important business operations. The space taken up by the machine can serve as a loading space for other production purposes or storing finished products.
Risk Of Breakdown and Maintenance
When it comes to the maintenance of an in-house granulating machine, it may vary between different industrial businesses. Some businesses may already have expert engineers on the ground with knowledge of the machine. Others may need to employ third-party support to help with the maintenance of the machine. Also, breakdown and maintenance of this machine will cause downtime in production which can be as long as 24-48 hours.
Staff Health and Safety
Many production industries have health and safety protocols to secure lives and properties. However, bringing in a new machine will require the business to carry out an additional risk assessment. The business may have to look out for:
- Noise Pollution
- Dust Pollution
- Manual Handling Risks
- Blade changes
- PPE Training and Monitoring
Cost Of Packaging and Storing Granulated Products
Packaging and storing granulated products will require a large number of pallets and bags which is also an additional cost. There will also be a need for floor space to be allocated for the storage of the granulated product.
Issue Of Cross-Contamination
When there is in-house granulation, there’s a higher chance of cross-contamination between rejected materials and production materials. For plastic recycling, this is often a result of an error from the operator or insufficient clean downs between plastics. Therefore, you may have to include separate granulators for different items. Metal removal systems should also be introduced in case of metal contamination.
Opportunity Cost
Opportunity cost is an important factor in businesses. Whatever you decide to spend money and resources on may result in long-term consequences for your business.
At Saturn Machine and Knives, we work with your business to offer unmatched Recycling Services. Our recycling services are vast and also include metal recycling and textiles recycling. You can trust us for all your industrial recycling needs.