Case Study: Charlie’s Soap Automated Batching System

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Sutherland Products is a boutique manufacturer of commercial and household cleaning products located in Mayodan, North Carolina. The company is best known for its Charlie’s Soap brand of laundry detergents and cleaning products, which combine effective cleaning and low environmental impact. From its origins in the Piedmont Triad area, the company has grown to distribute Charlie’s Soap all over the USA and recently, in international markets.
All of the Charlie’s Soap products are manufactured in Mayodan using natural or biodegradable ingredients. But environmentally friendly doesn’t always mean good for someone to breath during production. James Sutherland, Co-owner of Sutherland Products, would combine and mix the three ingredients for their laundry powder by hand, using a 16 cubic foot mixer on top of a floor scale.

He would also fill super sacs of finished product by hand but was not able to reach the optimum capacity of the sacs due to material handling issues. Sutherland realized that in order to improve safety and efficiency, he would have to contain the production process and automate it. He turned to J.A. King’s engineering department for a custom solution which controlled potentially harmful fumes and improved plant throughput.
For more information about Sutherland Products, please visit www.charliesoap.com
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J.A. King Case Study: Sutherland Products – Charlies Soap