Industrial Robot Integrators for Food & Beverage Automation

Common Pain Points in Food and Beverage Packaging

Supply Chain Challenges

Experts project that manufacturers may soon experience limited access to essential raw materials. Additionally, spare parts and maintenance items for industrial food packaging machines are expected to be increasingly difficult to acquire.

Since supply chain challenges are impacting businesses everywhere at the same time, commodity prices and availability are expected to swing unpredictably. This would include critical elements necessary for all manufacturers, such as fuel, construction materials, and plastics.

You can mitigate these risks by forming trusted partnerships today to help you deal with current and future supply chain disruptions.

Labor Shortages

The skills gap in manufacturing is wide and expected to get wider. Some experts project a shortage of more than 2 million skilled workers in the near future.

At that rate, even with all currently available manufacturing workers employed, there could still be thousands of more job openings than workers to fill them. This discrepancy could make it even harder for some companies to compete since the majority of quality candidates will have multiple employment offers. For this reason, food and beverage companies will also have to work hard at attracting and retaining their top talent.

During a time of upheaval and uncertainty, you can rely on RoBEX as your food packaging equipment supplier to keep your production line running.

E-commerce Upsurge

Studies have shown that 51% of manufacturers are already integrating e-commerce into their processes. Along with that trend, researchers have found that since 2020, more B2B buyers prefer to order from suppliers online rather than in person.

Online purchasing is clearly on the rise, and how manufacturers collect and manage their processing data will only become more crucial. Optimizing all equipment, even food packaging equipment, is not optional.

However, we can make data collection a seamless part of your process with an integrated suite of powerful tracking tools.

Other Manufacturing Issues

In addition to the high visibility issues listed above, manufacturers must also stay vigilant with:

• Following regulatory requirements surrounding waste disposal.
• Complying with plastic bans.
• Demonstrating transparency around sourcing raw materials.
• Implementing ethical practices and sustainability with regard to packaging.

5 Benefits of AMR/Cobot Integrations

Here are five advantages of integrating Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Collaborative Robots (cobots), which can greatly benefit your warehouse or factory operations while ensuring compliance with regulations:

Labor Reduction

Companies have long relied on automated processes to optimize material handling coordination.

Experts tracking automation development have consistently predicted an increase in the use of machines for production. In the past, implementing automation on small or medium-sized manufacturing assembly lines was cost-prohibitive.

However, advancements in industrial robot integration have made automation more accessible, especially in industries like food and beverage packaging. With rising labor costs and a decreasing workforce, automation has become a necessity.

Data Collection

Industrial data and artificial intelligence are key drivers of automation in food packaging. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) comprises a vast network of machines equipped with sensors, software, and other technologies.

Custom robotics systems utilizing AMRs and cobots form an integral part of this ecosystem. They facilitate comprehensive data collection across your entire manufacturing line and contribute to building a unified data architecture. This allows you to identify areas for optimization more effectively.

Consistency in Processes

Automation is pervasive in almost every industrial process, from battery assembly to vision system inspection to metrology. Consequently, food and beverage manufacturers can execute physical manufacturing and measurement tasks with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

Tasks that once required manual removal of parts for tracking can now be completed continuously and consistently through precise automation integration. This ensures a high level of process consistency throughout your operations.

Enhanced Safety in the Factory

Automation reduces the need for human labor, leading to a decreased risk of injuries. However, complete human replacement is not yet feasible. Recent trends indicate a growing emphasis on collaboration between robots and humans rather than complete substitution. By implementing AMRs or cobots, you can improve working conditions for your human workforce while maintaining safety standards.

Improved Ergonomics

Both AMRs and cobots excel in swiftly and efficiently moving physical products along the assembly line. These automated solutions can take on physically demanding tasks, offering relief to workers.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, shifting strenuous physical tasks from humans to robots plays a crucial role in reducing overall risk and injuries. By eliminating hazards through the replacement of human labor with machine labor, you can mitigate ergonomic risks.

How RōBEX Can Help

We have invested many years into perfecting food and beverage packaging and automation processes.

Today, our partners can count on us to implement not just quality machines, but the right automated solution for their specific food and beverage packaging needs. Such as:

• Pick, Pack, & Palletize Systems
• Case Erectors & Sealers
• Partition Inserters
• Tray Formers & Packers

We also perform repairs, maintenance, and upgrades to older generation controls and complete rebuilds.

About RōBEX

As a trusted industrial services provider, RōBEX understands the challenges and complexities involved in achieving optimal efficiencies and addressing issues related to industrial food packaging machines. We specialize in integrating top-quality industrial, collaborative, and autonomous mobile robots into your existing processes and workforce, ensuring safe and optimized food packaging automation.

With our extensive experience as a food and beverage packaging equipment supplier, we have successfully implemented automated solutions globally. We are eager to collaborate with you in planning, designing, and constructing a customized food packaging automation process or pick pack palletizing process that meets the unique challenges faced by your company.

If you are ready to introduce more robust automation technologies into your manufacturing line, we are an automation company you can trust. From vision system inspection to aerospace/automotive assembly automation, we tailor our approach to meet your needs. No matter the size of your business, our experts will work with you to find the most effective system to streamline your process and increase your productivity.

Contact us to learn more about how RōBEX can be your premier food packaging equipment supplier.