Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Maintenance StrategiesCase Studies & Field Reports

Field Reports

Dock doors get some needed attention

Updated shipping and receiving doors prevent ongoing impact damage from forklifts and pallets.

By Wayne Labs, Senior Contributing Technical Editor
Ben and Jerry's maintenance staff replaced rigid bottom panels on its receiving dock doors with flexible FLEX-BACK panels
January 10, 2014
Ben and Jerry's maintenance staff replaced rigid bottom panels on its receiving dock doors with flexible FLEX-BACK panels

Ben and Jerry’s maintenance staff replaced rigid bottom panels on its receiving dock doors with flexible FLEX-BACK panels, which give with bumps and snap back into place. (Inset photo): The processor also replaced inflexible doors on the shipping dock with CruiserWeight impactable dock doors that resist impact damage. Source: TKO Doors.

Ben and Jerry’s makes most of its ice cream in its St. Albans, VT plant and, from that plant, ships ice cream to both the US and around the world. Not only does the 143,000-sq.-ft. plant make Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, it also produces Breyers and Good Humor brands. The facility operates three shifts through the week and shuts down the lines over the weekend for maintenance. About 1,700 pallets of product are shipped to various markets each week from the facility’s 40°F shipping dock.

All this traffic can be rough on dock equipment, especially dock doors. The plant’s entire output goes out through just four of them, so losing a single door can crimp the flow of ice cream. Plant management is not interested in a backlog stemming from downtime at the dock, so it decided to replace the existing doors with heavy-duty TKO CruiserWeight impactable dock doors. According to Fitz Fitzgerald, plant maintenance manager, “It is not uncommon for us to do 40 truckloads over three shifts.”

Any kind of bump from a forklift, no matter how slight, can affect the ability of a door to seal properly. This misalignment leads to energy-wasting gaps between the door and the door frame and make the door difficult for the dock crew to open and close. With the TKO doors, Fitzgerald and his crew found they could avoid the maintenance costs and downtime associated with the previous units, keep traffic moving and prevent the loss of chilled air at the dock.

“Our main concern,” says Fitzgerald, “is the weather seal.” Rather than mounting it on the door frame, TKO attaches the door seal gasket to the door panel, enabling it to be protected within the door guide. The gasket is never exposed to damage or tearing, according to Fitzgerald.

A high-tensile, multi-filament hinge connects the door panels, preventing energy-wasting gaps. To protect the building from energy loss, the panel’s damage-resistant polymer skin encases an insulated foam core panel that is 1 3/4 inches thick.

When space is tight at the dock, and traffic is heavy, inadvertent collisions with the doors are inevitable, but the TKO doors are designed to withstand the impacts. They use a retractable plunger guidance system that rides along the ultra-high molecular weight polycarbonate tracks, allowing the plungers to slide out of the grooved track when the door is hit. The track also withstands forklift impacts, ensuring the door continues to operate smoothly without hanging up in the track.

At the receiving dock, accidents are not as frequent or destructive. But when pallets were shoved into the existing rigid lower panels, or forklifts bumped them, they fractured. Even when the panels weren’t broken, the doors were difficult to operate and could expose the operation to insects and other invaders. Ben and Jerry’s added protection to the doors by replacing the lower panel(s) with APS Resource FLEX-BACK panels.

The FLEX-BACK panels help eliminate door panel fractures by flexing upon impact and returning to a normal operating position. “Our standard doors did not flex like these panels do,” adds Fitzgerald. “So we were replacing panels all the time. We did try other styles of replacement panels, and they, too, would eventually suffer damage and need replacement.” v

For more information: Josh Brown, 877-408-6788, sales@tkodoors.com; Joe Graf, 262-518-1000, info@apsresource.com

KEYWORDS: audit pest control

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Wayne labs 200px
Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE’s Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE’s Engineering R&D section.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    People & Industry News
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Cleaning | Sanitation
    By: Richard F. Stier
Subscribe For Free!
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

FA&M 2025 in Rewind

FA&M 2025 in Rewind

More Videos

Popular Stories

Conagra Logo

Conagra Brands to Sell Chef Boyardee Brand to Hometown Food Company

Salt

FDA to Amend Standards of Identity to Include Salt Substitutes

Vilter IHP in plant

Industrial Heat Pumps: Sustainable Energy Solutions for Now and the Future

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 5, 2025

Mass Customization Driving Innovation in the Food and Beverage Industry

The food and beverage industry is at the nexus of transformative global manufacturing trends, driving a shift toward personalized, customer-centric solutions. 

June 5, 2025

How Cafe Spice Uses Automation to Propel Private Label

Learn about Cafe Spice’s new, state-of-the-art, highly automated manufacturing facility in Beacon, New York. 

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • Partner with an expert system integrator/machine builder/supplier like Rapid Development Services

    When automation projects need special attention and ASAP delivery, a one-stop SI delivers

    See More
  • Ken Leibig

    Get the temperature in a pipe without drilling a hole

    See More
  • To meet the standards for high quality at Nestles MINOR'S division, automated doorway control is very important.

    Faster doors for safer food

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • food-book.gif

    The 10 Principles of Food Industry Sustainability

  • Food-Authentication-Flyer-(.gif

    Food Authentication Using Bioorganic Molecules

See More Products
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!