Transforming Food & Beverage Operations with Collaborative Robots - Addressing Labor Shortages with Collaborative Palletizing (Part 1)

Addressing Labor Shortages with Collaborative Palletizing 

The food and beverage industry faces an ongoing challenge: LABOR SHORTAGES.

Finding reliable, skilled workers for repetitive and physically demanding tasks like palletizing is becoming increasingly difficult. This is where collaborative robots (cobots) from Universal Robots step in, providing a game-changing solution for automating palletizing processes while allowing businesses to reallocate labor to higher-value tasks. 

How Cobots Help Solve the Labor Crisis 
Collaborative robots are designed to work alongside human employees safely and efficiently. Unlike traditional automation solutions, cobots require minimal floor space, are easy to program, and can be redeployed for multiple tasks. By automating palletizing, businesses can reduce reliance on manual labor for repetitive tasks and reassign workers to quality control, machine maintenance, and process optimization. 

Real-Life Example                                                                                                                                                              A mid-sized beverage manufacturer faced a high turnover rate in their warehouse, making it challenging to maintain a consistent palletizing workforce. By implementing a Universal Robot UR10e model cobot, they automated their palletizing process, reducing manual labor costs by 30% while improving consistency and reducing workplace injuries. Employees were reallocated to more strategic roles, such as production optimization, leading to a 15% increase in overall efficiency. 

Additionally, implementing cobots helped the company improve employee retention. Workers previously assigned to palletizing found their new roles more engaging and less physically demanding, leading to higher job satisfaction. The transition to automation not only reduced turnover but also allowed the company to attract and retain skilled talent for specialized tasks, creating a more stable workforce. 

Learn how Raumland GmbH, a wine manufacturer in France, overcame manual palletizing challenges with a 3-day deployment and 14-month ROI cobot solution.  They processes over five million bottles and 2,500 different wines yearly, creating a huge diversity in its bottling operations. In a single 8-hour shift, employees had to handle up to 40 tons of packaging, which was inefficient and physically demanding. To tackle this problem, Raumland GmbH successfully used Robotiq's PE20 Palletizing Solution with the UR20 cobot from Universal Robots. During this 30-minute webinar, we discuss the steps from the design phase to integration and operation including cost analysis, ROI and how to begin your project.

In conclusion, collaborative palletizing presents an effective way to address labor shortages by combining automation with human input. This approach not only increases productivity and safety but also enhances the flexibility of businesses, making it a forward-thinking solution for industries facing a shrinking workforce. By adopting cobots, companies can remain competitive even in the face of labor challenges.