Spiralling All The Way To The Top

An expert in the manufacture of curved and spiral conveyors, Netherlands-based Jonge Poerink Conveyors is a market leader in the field, building on its key strengths of quality, flexibility and innovation. Elisabeth Skoda from Packaging Europe spoke to Arthur Oude Roelink, the company’s manager, to find out more.

Jonge Poerink Conveyors was founded in 1932 as a producer of concrete reinforcing wires and luggage racks, and over the years has developed into an expert in the manufacture of conveyors. The takeover by Ashworth Bros. in 1995 further helped to provide new opportunities for expansion. With 80 years of experience with conveyors at its site in Borne in the Netherlands, the company stands out in the market, being able to provide a suitable curve conveyor for any application.

“We renewed the business between 2006 and 2008, and our focus lies on expanding the business, bringing new solutions and inventions to the market,” Mr Oude Roelink points out. 

The company’s product portfolio includes an impressive range of conveyors. To set itself apart from the competition, it also puts a lot of time and effort into the design and look of the conveyor and the belts.

“Our main focus is on the manufacture of curved conveyors as well as spiral conveyors which are able to transport products upwards or downwards on a spiral. We are the market leader in this field,” Mr Oude Roelink is proud to point out.

Transfer conveyors, small conveyors that can be connected to one another to facilitate the transfer of smaller products from one conveyor to the next, and accumulating facilities complete the portfolio.

The company presented its product range at last year’s Fachpack trade fair in Nuremberg, and also will attend Interpack in Düsseldorf in May 2014.

“Fachpack was a great success for us. We received lots of requests for quotations, with our spiral conveyors especially generating a lot of interest, even though we were not physically able to show our biggest conveyor, which is able to transport heavy loads to high levels, making it ideal for logistics and end of line production,” Mr Oude Roelink explains.

Conveyor range
The company’s new Hyperion spiral conveyor is suitable for spanning great height differences on a minimal floor space, transporting products up as well as down. The JP HD Series has a modular setup and a broad variety of in/out feed configurations.

“This allows customers to configure the spiral according to their needs, enabling them to optimise floor capacity,” Mr Oude Roelink adds.

Jonge Poerink Conveyors has an excellent reputation within the curve conveyors segment. The most reliable curve conveyor in this market segment is the Puma (compact) curve. This is a curved conveyor with a solid plastic panel belt which is designed to connect straight conveyors and is suitable for the dairy, beer and beverage industry sectors, amongst others, as well as for secondary packed items.

Finally, the Racer fabric belt conveyor is designed for smooth and consistent conveying of small, fragile and/or precious products. “The Racer allows a reliable transfer in close tolerance situations and is also approved for conveying food products,” says Mr Oude Roelink.

Jonge Poerink Conveyors builds and designs its own belts, which gives it an advantage over many competitors. The company also works with its customers to make individual adjustments to conveyors to suit specific needs, incorporating their ideas. 

“We can make conveyor belts more suitable for curved products, and we can make adjustments or changes. This gives us the unique opportunity to make belts suitable for our customers’ products,” Mr Oude Roelink points out.

Production and industry sectors
The company’s main production facility is situated in Borne in the Netherlands, and also houses sales and engineering. Business is going well, as Mr Oude Roelink is happy to report.

“We have enjoyed solid growth in recent years. We are looking to expand our production facility in the Netherlands, and are currently looking for a new building. We are also looking to expand in other areas, as our mother company is located in the US, where we are looking to set up a facility. We are growing because we bring new products to the market, which our customers like.” 

Jonge Poerink Conveyors works closely with its suppliers and contractors, and they are an important part of its business success.

“We like to keep in control and therefore prefer to use local contractors and suppliers. We take pride in our flexibility and fast delivery times, and we need our suppliers’ support for that,” Mr Oude Roelink adds.

A big share of the business is coming from the food and beverage sector, but the company is also expanding into the area of logistics, warehousing and internet sales, which are strong growth markets.

Jorge Poerink Conveyors mostly sells to OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and system integrators. The logistics sector is an important growth market due to the rising importance of online retail.

“We started out as a small company in western Europe and are keen to expand from there. We are looking into covering eastern Europe, southern Europe, especially France,” Mr Oude Roelink says.

The company’s main goal for the future is to stay on the same successful path and continue to grow. “We are currently working on a modular plastic conveyor which is light weight and therefore can be assembled and dismantled easily. We want to stay ahead of technology and continue to be inventors of new conveyor designs. We provide quality, flexibility and innovation – these are the three pillars our company is built on and we want to build further on this.”

For more information, visit www.jpconveyors.com.