Page 60 - Ameft Journal 2021-III

PROCESSING & PACKAGING Sandwiches get robotic accuracy in wrapping In order to automate the assembly lines with robotics, a UK-based lo- cal sandwich and wrap producer part- nered with Grote Company which is an industrial food processing equipment manufacturer. The recently installed Grote Robotics automates wrap han- dling, aligning, and cutting. Grote auto- mation solution improves production rates and quality, reduces line labor, and increase plant and food safety. The challenges faced by the local manufacturer were – Manual wrap assembly, handling, cutting, and packaging – Inconsistent and lower production rates and quality – Labor availability due to rising wag- (Source: Grote Company) WrapCutter controlled by Grote Robotics 60 AMEFT 3 2021 es, Brexit, and ultimately the CO- VID-19 pandemic – High turnover resulted in difficulty training for these highly skilled roles – Excessive handling increased the opportunity for food safety issues – During COVID-19, having that many operators in close proximity was high risk With the new robotic twin lane so- lution, the processor has: - Eliminated six operators per shift - Increased production capacity to 100 wraps/minute - Improved quality to 95% - Increased food and plant safety Talking about the recent partner- ship, John Truscott of Grote Company said, “We are extremely happy to partner with a long-time customer to help reach their production and safety goals with robotics. Automating high care sandwich assembly applications has been our goal since the inception of the robotics unit in 2018, and to see another successful installation across two lines is very rewarding. We can’t wait for the next one!” The solution includes hygienic 3D vision systems, Stäubli 4-axis robots, custom end effectors, and a Grote ul- trasonic cutter. All components are food grade and rated IP65 or higher for thorough sanitation. It’s the latest application and installation from Grote Robotic solutions. (Source: Grote Company) (Source: Grote Company) (Source: Grote Company) www.ameft.com