AVR Opens a New Assembly Line
In June AVR, a manufacturer of machinery for cultivating potatoes and other bulbous and tuberous plants, officially opened its new production facility in the presence of Governor Carl Decaluwé, Mayor Kris Declercq and Roeselare Aldermen Marc Van Walleghem, Nathalie Muylle and Griet Coppé.
“Our Flemish government, the province and the city—particularly our new Mayor and the Aldermen—have made every effort to help push this project in the right direction. We have experienced competent, cooperative officials on all levels,” managing director Stefan Top said in his opening speech.
That same weekend AVR welcomed some 3,000 people from the potato cultivation sector to visit its production facilities and new assembly line as part of its Professional Days.
New Line Functioning
Both drawn and self-propelled harvesters are built on the new assembly line. The chassis is coupled to a central chain that automatically pulls the machine forward. Fixed workstations are organized along this chain. Each employee has their own place, knows their assigned tasks and possesses the necessary tools, which saves time. Every workstation must complete its planned work before the drag chain is activated. This movement lasts only two minutes.
In the past, a forklift truck moved machines to the next workstation, but this is no longer necessary. With the drag chain, AVR is striving for a more structured approach to the production process.
“We made this investment to guarantee a smooth flow of the machines so that we can still deliver in a timely manner, even at a higher production rate”, says Stefan Top.
“In December we assembled the last harvesters in the old buildings. Now we have made room for producing the drawn tools such as cultivating and planting machines. Such a move entails a lot: planning the new workstations alongside the drag chain, placement of the parts, briefing the employees on a brand-new workplace and working method… Fortunately, we have a strong project team that organized everything carefully and the planning was closely complied with”, Top concludes.
AVR took a number of ergonomic measures so that employees experience as little nuisance as possible in executing their jobs. An AVR Safety and Prevention Advisor specially trained for this purpose keeps a close eye on all adaptations.
To protect workers’ hearing, they are given custom-made earplugs and the roof of the hangar has been made with acoustically absorbent material. Trip hazards are reduced by using electrical tools with batteries as much as possible, instead of compressed-air tools.
All workstations are much wider than before and, together with clear LED lighting, this has a positive influence on the atmosphere. At the end of February the social block will also be ready. The brand-new canteen is a comfortable space full of light.
In 2005 we had around 60 members of staff, in 2015 we had 130. At the beginning of 2016, AVR added six more positions: a service technician, production supervisor, R&D engineer, quality controller, technical purchaser and a business development manager.
