The shortage of labor is pushing many companies to turn to automation. This is the case of the Démex-Centrem group, which has just invested $3.5 million in adding more modern infrastructure to its sorting center in Alma, in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
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This addition will allow the plant to double its production capacity, but also to better recover materials.
“The first sorting line was manual. You know, today, with the labor shortage, we have to optimize our processes as much as possible. Our old sorting table took about 10 to 15 people. This allows us to use the same operation for the same volumes with three to five people. So, for us, it’s a gain in manpower, that’s for sure, ”explained the president of Centrem, Yanick Tremblay.
Thanks to automation, the machine can now process almost 40 tons of material per hour. This optimization stems from an overall investment of $11 million, of which $3.5 million is injected into the Alma plant.
Forty-five jobs will thus be consolidated and a dozen others will be created, then distributed between the Chicoutimi and Alma facilities.
“By automating, a robot or an optical reading, it is not mistaken, it sees the piece of wood and will take it out. So, of course, we will optimize this side, that is to say, we will recover more and better. By the same token, we avoid landfilling,” continued Mr. Tremblay.
“Foam, wood, iron, anything you would normally throw away. We put that in the back of a big grinder that grinds. From then on, everything goes through the treatments. As much as the wood will fall on its own, the aggregates, the non-ferrous. And there will remain a small box that we will finally throw away, ”continued Mélanie Vilandré, foreman at Centrem.
Nearly 70% of the material is therefore recovered. Before, it was entirely dedicated to landfills.
“It is sure that it is a gain on the environmental side. We will take the material from Chicoutimi and we will assemble it at our new center in Alma to be able to generate volumes of 60,000 tonnes per year,” noted Yanick Tremblay.
This addition also represents great economic benefits for the region, according to the Mayor of Alma.
“In terms of economic development, we talk about the circular economy, so we are really in the economy of the future that we are already installing on our territory. And all the companies that will be able to benefit from that, here, in the region”, rejoiced Sylvie Beaumont.
And a partnership with the City could perhaps even see the light of day.
“I think we have everything to gain first of all by evaluating what our participation could be within this and how we could contribute,” added the mayor.
The remaining portion of the work to consolidate the site layout should be completed by the end of the month.
In addition, in Saguenay, the relocation of the transhipment center from chemin de la Réserve to rue des Sociétaires, in Chicoutimi, should take place at the end of the month, if all goes as planned.
Saguenay granted last March an amount of $1.5 million to transfer the facilities. Noise, dust and heavy transport cause neighborhood discontent.
“Normally, it should be done within the next few weeks. You know like me that in construction, there are always small delays. We know that in times of pandemic there are a lot of delays in the supply of certain products so that puts us a little sand in the gears as I could say, ”explained the president of Centrem.
Demex President Dany Tremblay added that the company’s administrative offices for the entire group should be operational from January 2023.
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca