Layout Is a Cost Decision Made Once

A badly arranged line charges rent every day: extra metres of sheet travel, extra handling steps, extra operators per shift. Layout deserves the same engineering as the machines themselves.

Shantou Longsheng Industry Co., Ltd. supplies complete cup production capability — sheet extruders, cup making machines, thermoforming machines and molds — from Shantou City, Guangdong Province, and supports customers through plant planning.

The Material Should Move in One Direction

The cleanest layout is straight-line: raw material in at one end, packed cups out at the other.

1. Resin and masterbatch storage near the extruder feeders, with dry space for hygroscopic materials
2. Sheet extrusion (for example the DSI-PP multilayer line or the LSI series for PET/PLA with drying and crystallising) feeding rolls directly toward forming
3. Cup forming and stacking — FS-8556, HSS-8556 or HAI-8556 — positioned so roll changes do not block the aisle
4. In-line quality station: weight sampling, rim and seal checks, sample retention
5. Bagging or cartoning with a short, straight path from the stacker

Where space is tight, an L-shape works if the turn happens between extrusion and forming, not between forming and packing — rolls are easier to move around a corner than stacked cups.

Utilities Decide the Real Footprint

• Power: extruder barrel plus heating zones dominate; check the plant's transformer headroom
• Chilled water: mold cooling and roll cooling, routed short and insulated
• Compressed air and vacuum: dryers, forming and stacking actuations
• Exhaust: extruder vents and heating ovens

Machines are usually smaller than the services around them; plan the services first.

Staffing and Flow

A well-arranged line runs with one operator per forming line plus a shared material handler. The operator's walking loop — stacker, quality station, scrap bin, pallet position — should close in a few steps. Quality checks belong beside the stacker, not in an office.

Growth Space

Leave one machine-length of clear floor beside each forming line. Adding a second shift or a second mold format is cheaper than relocating a line.

Company Facts

Founded in 1998, Longsheng operates a 30,000 square metre plant, holds 25 authorised patents (1 invention, 24 utility model) and is a high-tech enterprise under the "Longsheng" trademark.

For plant layout support, visit the official website: https://www.stlongsheng.com