Solving Signal Issues at Sofidel
7th Apr 2023
Sofidel are a leading producer of tissue paper for hygienic and domestic use. They produce toilet paper, kitchen towels, napkins, handkerchiefs, and tissues. Their values coincide with their principles of sustainability by the responsible procurement of raw materials, contained use of water and reduction in climate-altering gas emissions and waste. They have four production sites across the UK, two integrated plants one in Leicester (Hamilton Industrial Park) and another one in Baglan (Briton Ferry, Neath), a paper mill in the area of Lancaster and a converting plant in Leicester (Rothley Lodge).
The Problems
Their plant in Baglan, Neath Wales is 1 square mile in size and within their warehouses they experienced very poor mobile signal. The warehouses consist of steel structures and manufacturing machinery. Internal communications within the plant could only be conducted by a two-way radio or Wi-Fi calling, which wasn’t practical in all areas of the business. There was no mobile signal that could be used.
Due to the size of the business and the premises, staff needed to be able to keep in communication with each other. As a result of the poor signal, staff had to go outside to make or receive calls, making internal communication impractical.
The Solution
The plant’s Manager and IT Manager got in contact with one of Frequency Telecom’s Resellers, ZoneGen. It was recommended that a site survey should be conducted to evaluate their signal issues.
The survey concluded that their signal was non-existent and the CEL-FI QUATRA 1000 was recommended for installation due to having a single network requirement and future scalability. Sofidel decided to install a pilot in their office and the main plant.
Installation
Sofidel required the cabling to be hidden and out of sight from the exterior of the building. Cabling from the donor antennas to the NUs was going to be a challenge. Sodifel didn’t want the cabling to come from the roof due to fire and rain-proofing restrictions of a tissue manufacturing plant. They agreed to have minimal cabling on the exterior of the building tied neatly to drainage pipes, inserted through ventilations into their interior spaces.
The Results
The building now has a very good and stable mobile signal. They were so impressed with the results they are now considering scaling this up to other areas of the plant, as well as implementing the solution at their Leicester plant.
- Significantly improved communication
- Potential to be scaled up to cover additional spaces at the plant
- Full Vodafone coverage
- Plans to implement into their other plants
