Now and again, a challenge comes alongside that jogs my memory why I like what I do. This current deployment within the beverage sector did simply that. It began with a telephone name, moved quick, and ended with a small producer punching properly above their weight.
A beverage producer on the rise
This buyer is a smaller operation, however with large development forward. They’d simply secured main contracts with household-name retailers and wanted to indicate they may scale. Quick. Automation was not only a nice-to-have.
They reached out via 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 accomplice, ACS, and inside per week they had been on-site evaluating the house, the conveyors, the product sorts, and the road setup.
Bottling line, excessive expectations
After I heard “bottling,” I’ll admit I braced for velocity challenges. Beverage functions can transfer quick, and packaging may be tough. However at present’s palletizing options are far more succesful than they had been even a yr in the past.
With UR20 and UR30 robots within the combine, and our improved gripper design, we at the moment are choosing and stacking a number of beverage circumstances directly. This buyer wanted to palletize 24-pack circumstances and was additionally getting 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 development, not simply labor
Sure, labor shortages performed a job within the determination to automate. However what actually drove the urgency was demand. This producer wanted to show to their new retail companions that they may meet quantity and supply expectations. We see this increasingly more within the meals and beverage house — small companies touchdown large contracts and needing to scale up quick.
Understanding these pressures is vital. These firms are navigating strict necessities from prospects like Costco and Walmart. After we present them that our programs are versatile sufficient to fulfill these packaging and throughput calls for, the dialog turns into much more related.
Quick determination, sooner outcomes
What stood out about this deal was the velocity. 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 couple of month.
He even plans to do the combination 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
Trying to future-proof you personal palletizing course of?
We have made it extraordinarily straightforward to see if a Robotiq Palletizing Answer is an efficient match on your manufacturing unit! Merely reply a collection of questions and we’ll ship you a personalized 3D simulation and report displaying precisely which answer matches your manufacturing unit house and wishes in only a matter of minutes.
