Automation: the key to flexible, fast-paced food-to-go manufacturing
By Dan Fisher, Head of Sales at FANUC UK.
FANUC’ s SI network includes experienced food-industry integrators that can help manufacturers identify where automation will have the greatest impact
Walk into a UK food factory and you might expect to see automation at every stage of production. Yet despite the steady rise of automation across the food and beverage sector, many familiar food products are still being packed by hand.
This is particularly true in the fastpaced and highly flexible food-to-go market. Convenience items such as sandwiches, wraps, bakery products, snacks, salads and protein pots are increasingly everyday purchases,
10 FDPP- www. fdpp. co. uk yet many manufacturers still rely on manual packing and palletising before they make their way from producer to retailer.
For food manufacturers producing goods with short shelf lives, tight margins and demanding delivery schedules, this presents an obvious opportunity. Packing and palletising are areas where automation can deliver immediate efficiency gains without requiring a complete overhaul of the production line.
A growing market with demanding requirements
Food-to-go products are typically single portions designed to be eaten on the move rather than served as a conventional meal. They are usually fully prepared or require minimal preparation, and are widely sold in supermarkets, convenience stores, coffee shops, bakeries and fast-food outlets.
It is a growing market. Food-to-go now accounts for nearly 24 % of all