Case Study

Smiley Monroe’s ZIP CLIP® Belts are transforming downtime in the recycling industry

Posted by: Kaity Hall on 28 March 2025

Updated on: 13 June 2025

Discover how Smiley Monroe’s ZIP CLIP® replacement conveyor belt turned a downtime disaster into a quick recovery, helping transform our customer’s operations & save them thousands in lost revenue.

We manufacture products designed to maximise uptime, and when a large recycling plant recently suffered multiple conveyor breakdowns, it was Smiley Monroe’s ZIP CLIP® replacement conveyor belt that turned a downtime disaster into a short-term breakdown.

The customer operates a fully integrated waste management and recycling company, processing waste from a number of sectors and currently treating over 350,000 mt of waste each year diverting up to 250,000 mt of waste from landfill into recycling plants or waste-derived fuels.

Downtime planned or unplanned on any plant can cost up to £1000 per hour in lost revenue as well as a hefty vulcanising bill and lost time waiting for a crew to arrive. Material building up and waiting to be processed can also quickly cause a logistical problem if plants are not up and running. The process of vulcanising endless belts on site also led to a number of health and safety implications, with service teams operating at height and lift equipment having to be hired at additional costs.

Recognising the customers’ challenges, our product support team recommended the customer trial Smiley Monroe ZIP CLIP® mechanically fastened conveyor belts as an alternative to the vulcanised belts. The customer adopted the trial into one production facility and found that their planned maintenance downtime was slashed – saving thousands in lost revenue and vulcanising costs. The ZIP CLIP® belts could be fitted in just one hour, without the need for hiring safety equipment or a specialist team. So successful was the trial, that the company has now rolled out ZIP CLIP® replacement belts as standard across their entire operations.

Smiley Monroe’s short lead times and premium dispatch service on ZIP CLIP® belts mean that even in the case of a conveyor breakdown, the customer can receive a belt as soon as the next day depending on location. Switching to the world’s fastest replacement conveyor belt has transformed the customer’s maintenance costs and significantly reduced the impact of downtime on their business.

To find out more about ZIP CLIP® the world’s Fastest Replacement Conveyor Belt – Click Here

“We've been working with Smiley Monroe for over three decades. They provide a great product and speedy service. We've grown as a business because our customers trust the quality of products on our machines and the suppliers we use – that's what makes Smiley Monroe such a valued partner.”

John Pickering

Rapid International, Business Development Manager

“The quality of products we receive from Smiley Monroe is excellent. The opportunity to have after-sales and spare parts like ZIP CLIP© readily available has helped us support our customers and go from strength to strength.”

Stephen Conway

Edge Innovate, Territory Sales Manager

“We keep ZIP CLIP belts in stock because it minimizes our downtime. Smiley Monroe came out and did a survey of our plant and measured all the belts. All our conveyors have belt numbers on them, so if we have a belt that breaks, we take one out of our own stock, we fit it, we ring Smiley Monroe, give them the belt number, and they make us a new one.”

Mark McIvor

RiverRidge, Operations Manager

“With ZIP CLIP®, the clips are already fitted to the joint, so it's ready to go; we just pull the old belt off and fit the ZIP CLIP®. It's much safer, too, as we don't need to take the conveyor out of the machine, so it eliminates a lot of the safety concerns we had with other methods. We like to keep a ZIP CLIP® belt in stock for our most critical conveyors, giving us peace of mind that should anything happen, we can act quickly.”

Kenny Harris

Gaddie Shamrock, Superintendent