Case study: Yes you can judge a belt by its cover
In modern manufacturing, finding exactly the right conveyor belt to move products with speed and precision is essential.
Where to start? It always begins with the application: product size, shape, weight, material, temperature, moisture, and all the other key variables. Our specialists then look for compatible elements of belt design: fiber material, weave pattern, color, surface structure, adhesiveness, thickness, open area, flammability, and more. There are countless combinations, which means thousands of unique belts engineered to perform under specific conditions and solve particular problems.
However, despite the wide assortment of belt styles on the market, it’s not uncommon for an application to have the wrong belt. For one food producer using a competitor’s belt, poor product positioning meant a return to the old way of moving things: by hand. Here’s what happened:
A pizza producer was struggling with product slippage occurring on a decline, where although the existing plastic flush grid belt was intended to support the pizzas and their toppings, it was very ineffective, resulting in slippage-related product loss and the need for manual labor to adjust pizzas before entry into the freezer.
The IS610 plastic modular belt with a grip pattern for pizza processing
To eliminate this manual labor, the producer wanted a food-safe plastic modular belt that could secure both the pizzas and their toppings during a decline. Habasit suggested our IS610 Grip Top, with a grip pattern that could navigate the hold-down wheels of the conveyor and provide mechanical support to hold in place the pizzas and their toppings.
Once installed, the IS610 Grip Top stabilized the pizzas, allowing reliable movement on the decline. As a result, the producer no longer needed to have a worker monitor the line and manually adjust product after slippage.
Overall, the food producer made substantial savings and gained extra benefits by switching to the Habasit belt:
- USD 4,800 saved annually on manual labor
- Approximately USD 3,000 saved annually on product loss
- Improved product quality
Total annual savings amounted to USD 7,800.
Usually, it isn’t wise to judge something by its cover. But in belting, surface matters — and every layer beneath. What’s more, with precisely calibrated belting designs, there’s no reason to get your hands dirty.
