Shepherd Specialty Papers Cuts Costs with Low Maintenance Conveyors

The Company 

Shepherd Specialty Papers, based in Watertown, Tennessee, is a family-owned leader in laboratory animal care with over 40 years of experience. The company specializes in high-quality bedding and enrichment products—like ALPHA-dri®, Cellu-nest™, and Shepherd Shack®—designed to support animal welfare and rigorous biomedical research. Known for their commitment to quality and innovation, Shepherd is dedicated to providing reliable, research-appropriate products. 

Recently, the company sought to modernize its operations by upgrading its aging conveyor systems, aiming to reduce maintenance costs, minimize product loss, and optimize material handling across their manufacturing floor.

The Challenge

The specialty papers company production line had two fifteen-year-old conveyors that were very costly to maintain. The conveyor belts needed to be replaced every nine months, and maintenance was very time-consuming, with numerous nuts and bolts to remove and replace when switching out and cleaning the belts. 

The legacy conveyor design moved diced paper from material handling to bagging equipment, and there was a significant amount of product loss during transit. In addition, the footprint of the plant floor offered very limited space between the vibratory screening equipment and the floor. 

The company had been “band-aiding” these conveyors for many years and needed a new solution.

The Solution

Kent Cripps, Business Support Specialist, was researching conveyors online and found Dynamic Conveyor’s You Tube page. He was intrigued by the DynaCon modular conveyor that was easy to take apart, maintain and reconfigure. 

After a discovery session with the Dynamic Conveyor sales and engineering team, the conveyor experts recommended a Hybrid Z solution with a specialty belt that provided a sustainable, modular, low maintenance solution that could meet the requirements of an abrasive product, contain the product and optimize floor space. 

The Results

In two years, the belt has not been replaced. With the new easy maintenance conveyor system, maintenance costs dropped, belt replacements are minimal, and upkeep is effortless. “The conveyors run twenty hours a day with no trouble maintenance. The preventative maintenance we do every few weeks is a breeze” Cripps said. 

“We are committed to customer excellence and want to partner with companies who are dedicated to the same. The consultation and service provided by the Dynamic Conveyor team was excellent. We will be relocating our plant and upgrading our manufacturing line to scale our business up – we are looking forward to working with Dynamic Conveyor again for this project” Cripps continued.

Ready to streamline your operations and boost efficiency? Discover how our Hybrid Z conveyors and custom easy to maintain conveyor solutions can save time, cut costs, and keep your production running smoothly. Explore our full range of innovative systems today!