One month, one robotic, one huge step for beverage manufacturing

Now and again, a venture comes alongside that jogs my memory why I really like what I do. This latest deployment within the beverage sector did simply that. It began with a cellphone name, moved quick, and ended with a small producer punching effectively above their weight. 

A beverage producer on the rise

This buyer is a smaller operation, however with huge progress forward. They’d simply secured main contracts with household-name retailers and wanted to indicate they might scale. Quick. Automation was not only a nice-to-have.

They reached out by way of their trusted community at Common Robots. That preliminary belief laid the groundwork for an environment friendly and assured gross sales course of. I rapidly introduced in our native companion, ACS, and inside every week they had been on-site evaluating the area, the conveyors, the product sorts, and the road setup.

Bottling line, excessive expectations

After I heard “bottling,” I’ll admit I braced for pace challenges. Beverage functions can transfer quick, and packaging may be tough. However at this time’s palletizing options are way more succesful than they had been even a 12 months in the past.

With UR20 and UR30 robots within the combine, and our improved gripper design, we are actually choosing and stacking a number of beverage circumstances without delay. This buyer wanted to palletize 24-pack circumstances and was additionally making ready for 2 12-pack SKUs to roll out quickly. We had been capable of create a dual-zone gripper that might deal with each: a future-proof answer proper out of the gate.

Pushed by progress, not simply labor

Sure, labor shortages performed a job within the resolution to automate. However what actually drove the urgency was demand. This producer wanted to display to their new retail companions that they might meet quantity and supply expectations. We see this increasingly more within the meals and beverage area — small companies touchdown huge contracts and needing to scale up quick.

Understanding these pressures is vital. These corporations are navigating strict necessities from clients like Costco and Walmart. After we present them that our methods are versatile sufficient to fulfill these packaging and throughput calls for, the dialog turns into much more related.

Quick resolution, quicker outcomes

What stood out about this deal was the pace. We had been talking on to the proprietor. He knew what he wanted, trusted the answer, and will transfer rapidly. From first contact to closing, all of it occurred in a few month.

He even plans to do the mixing himself, which is one other nice reminder of the place this trade started: small producers adopting cobots for sensible, hands-on causes. It was inspiring to observe this come full circle, with a small producer adopting a complicated but accessible answer

Seeking to future-proof you personal palletizing course of?

We have made it extraordinarily simple to see if a Robotiq Palletizing Answer is an effective match to your manufacturing unit! Merely reply a sequence of questions and we’ll ship you a personalized 3D simulation and report exhibiting precisely which answer matches your manufacturing unit area and wishes in only a matter of minutes.