Within the coronary heart of Provence, a small French bottling firm is proving that automation is not only for giant producers. Bulles Création, based mostly in Valréas, has doubled its manufacturing cadence and lifted the bodily pressure off its operators by deploying a Robotiq PE20 Palletizing Workcell on the finish of its bottling line.
Based in 2014 and based mostly in Valréas, within the Provence area of southeastern France, Bulles Création is an 8-person firm that provides bottling companies for native winemakers whereas additionally growing its personal glowing drinks, together with wine and non-alcoholic choices like kombucha.
The problem: rising demand, an getting older line, and a bodily demanding job
Bulles Création constructed its enterprise on flexibility, bottling for native winemakers whereas growing its personal effervescent drinks. However as demand grew, the corporate’s manufacturing instruments could not sustain. Its packaging line was capped at 1,500 bottles an hour.
The bottleneck wasn’t simply pace. It was additionally the toll handbook palletizing took on operators. Each day, staff dealt with cartons of 6 or 12 bottles weighing as much as 20 kg, stacking them at a tempo of roughly 4.5 cartons a minute. That added as much as 4 to five tonnes lifted per day.
“Labor shortages, bodily pressure, the necessity to increase productiveness… this automation venture aimed to offer an efficient reply to a number of challenges shared by many meals and beverage corporations.”
Bruno Quenin, co-manager of Bulles Création
On high of the area and labor constraints, Bulles Création wanted an answer versatile sufficient to adapt palletizing to its film-wrapping step, relatively than a inflexible, single-purpose setup.
To deal with it, the corporate invested greater than €1 million to rebuild its bottling line and automate almost all of it. The turning level got here on the Prod&Pack commerce present in November 2024, the place Bulles Création’s management met Isycod, Robotiq’s integration associate for southeastern France.
The answer: a compact Workcell constructed for a decent manufacturing ground
Area was the deciding constraint. Bulles Création’s manufacturing ground is tight, and a standard industrial robotic, with the heavy security fencing it requires, merely wasn’t an possibility.
The corporate turned to the PE20, Robotiq’s automated Palletizing Workcell constructed round a UR20 collaborative robotic from Common Robots.
“It is the compactness, the benefit of use, and the power to adapt to a number of carton and pallet codecs, all whereas assembly the precise constraints of our manufacturing website, that led us to decide on the Robotiq Palletizing Workcell in a short time.”
Bruno Quenin, co-manager of Bulles Création
Isycod accomplished the mixing on the finish of the road, which required sensible sequencing of the carton movement by means of an autonomous curler conveyor with three buffer zones. The system robotically areas cartons aside to forestall collisions and retains the cobot fed in actual time.
One distinctive piece of the venture was the mixing of two movie wrappers straight into the Workcell. That allow the road run palletizing, wrapping, and pallet evacuation to delivery as one steady sequence, with no handbook dealing with in between. The exhausting half wasn’t software program, it was mechanical. Isycod needed to match these movie wrappers to the Robotiq commonplace with out resorting to main software program adjustments.
That is additionally the place Robotiq’s software program earns its maintain. Operators configure, modify, and launch palletizing recipes on their very own, with no superior robotics or programming abilities required. Switching between carton or pallet codecs is simply as quick, letting operators reconfigure the road themselves with out calling in outdoors assist.
Geared up with a 3 kg Robotiq vacuum gripper constructed for heavy cartons, the cobot now handles cartons weighing as much as 20 kg, placing the UR20’s 25 kg payload to work. Working at a gradual 4 cycles per minute and backed by native sensitivity sensors that set off an prompt cease on contact, the cell operates safely with out a security cage.
The outcomes: capability doubled, with room to develop
One yr after automating its line, Bulles Création is already seeing the payoff.
- Cadence doubled: the corporate now produces round 2,500 bottles per hour, up from 1,500
- Headroom for progress: the brand new line can attain as much as 4,500 bottles per hour, giving the enterprise an extended runway to scale
- Fewer missed alternatives: Bulles Création can now meet stronger demand, tackle new volumes, and develop its shopper portfolio as an alternative of turning down manufacturing for lack of capability
- Higher working circumstances: handbook palletizing, and the musculoskeletal dysfunction danger that got here with it, has been faraway from the job
- Increased-value work: operators free of palletizing now contribute to R&D on new in-house merchandise
“Immediately, I do not perceive why everybody is not doing this. Collaborative palletizing has genuinely helped us. This venture reveals precisely how small and medium-sized French meals and beverage corporations can modernize their manufacturing instruments to develop into extra aggressive, develop their order e book, and develop into extra enticing employers.”
Bruno Quenin, co-manager of Bulles Création
A mannequin for small producers
Bulles Création’s story is a reminder that automation does not require a big footprint or a big workforce to repay. With the correct associate and the correct cobot, an 8-person firm can rebuild its end-of-line, double its output, and provides its individuals higher, safer work to do.
Wish to see if collaborative palletizing matches your manufacturing ground? Strive our Palletizing Match Examine to verify feasibility, or discover the PE20 Palletizing Workcell for your self.
Undecided if palletizing automation is best for you? Begin with IQ.
One of many greatest boundaries producers face earlier than investing in automation is uncertainty. Will it slot in my plant? Will it deal with my merchandise? Will the numbers truly work for my operation? These are honest questions, they usually deserve actual solutions earlier than any dedication is made.
That’s precisely what Robotiq IQ is constructed for.
IQ is Robotiq’s AI-enabled platform designed to take producers from first query to deployment-ready Workcell sooner and with higher confidence. It’s not a gross sales instrument. It’s an engineering and enterprise validation platform that provides you the knowledge that you must make an knowledgeable choice.
