For this oven-ready meal manufacturer, the challenges of inefficiency and labor shortages meant they needed to start exploring automation. Here is the story of their journey with Robotiq.

Customer Profile

This company specializes in frozen poultry products and operates in Northern Europe. Like many businesses in this sector, they rely on consistent, efficient packaging and palletizing to keep up with demand. The company runs two separate production lines and had traditionally relied on manual labor for palletizing, with three employees working per shift across two shifts each day.

Business Challenges 

The company was dealing with inefficiencies. The pace of work was inconsistent, leading to idle time for workers and suboptimal productivity. With labor shortages and rising costs, the company needed a way to redeploy its workforce to more value-added tasks further up the production line. However, they were concerned about making a major automation investment all at once, as they lacked experience with robotic solutions. Luckily, their new General Manager had implemented Robotiq Palletizing Solutions at his previous job and knew where to start.

Why Was Robotiq’s Palletizing Solution a Good Fit?

Robotiq’s solution stood out for several key reasons:

• Turnkey Simplicity: The company was attracted to Robotiq’s full turnkey solution, eliminating the complexity of dealing with multiple suppliers.
• Ease of Use: One of the biggest selling points was the intuitive software. The team was impressed by how easy it was to input box dimensions, weight, and pallet configurations with minimal training.
• Proven Success: With close to 700 successful installations worldwide and documented case studies, Robotiq provided credibility and trust that their solution would work reliably.
• Scalability & ROI: The company adopted a phased approach, starting with one production line before committing to the second. This minimized risk while allowing them to see a return on investment within 13 months. With the second phase in progress, the ROI is expected to improve further.

Tips if You're Considering Automation

Here are key takeaways from this company’s experience:

1. Start Small & Scale Up: Investing in automation doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Implementing a solution in phases helps mitigate risk and build confidence.
2. Embrace Change: Many manufacturers hesitate to automate, fearing complexity or failure. However, as Robotiq’s customers have found, those who take the first step never regret it.
3. Trust Your Supplier: Choosing a solution with strong support, proven success, and an easy-to-use interface can make all the difference in adoption and long-term success.
4. Think of Automation as a Journey: Success in automation isn’t just about purchasing a machine—it’s about building knowledge, optimizing processes, and continually improving.

Conclusion

By adopting Robotiq’s palletizing solution, this food manufacturer optimized its operations while setting the stage for continued growth. Their journey illustrates that automation doesn’t have to be intimidating—it can be a strategic, step-by-step process with significant benefits.

If your company is considering automating palletizing or other tasks, contact a Robotiq expert to explore how our solutions can help streamline your operations and boost efficiency.