Northstar Pulp & Paper Helps the Paper Industry Recycle

While Northstar’s recyclables processing branch is kept busy, their machines installation business is arguably more widespread. According to Josh Ley, one of Northstar’s field service technicians, they have installed compactors and balers from coast to coast. Josh explains that the process takes anywhere from half a day to two weeks depending on the size of the project. One problem that Josh and the rest of his team have had to solve is the risk of their compactors backing up. A customer could face an issue where the compactor would become over-filled before the paper could be hauled off. This would result in their chute backing up and causing additional problems. Working with technical support at FactoryMation, Josh found the solution by installing an SG2 smart relay connected to sensors and stack lights. The system is set up so that the sensor only triggers the relay after paper is detected in its sensing range for a preconfigured time delay, ensuring that paper could fall through the chute without triggering it but not back up. Once the compactor is full, the SG2 then turns on the light and sound modules to visually and audibly alert workers of an impending overfill state.

Recycled paper products have become a norm in the United States, and most people are probably used to using a product that is made of recycled paper these days. Companies like Northstar are a large part of what makes that happen. They simultaneously generate recycled material for new products while reducing waste. Northstar hauls the materials that are to be recycled from their customer’s facility to their own half-million square foot plant in Springfield, MA. Sometimes these customers have Northstar’s own balers and compactors on-site in order to make the transportation easier. Once delivered to their plant, a proprietary process is used to break down the paper or other recyclables. This process turns the paper into a pulp-like form that can be turned into new rolls of paper that are eventually used by manufacturers to create the recycled products we are used to seeing on store shelves.