how a pizza dough producer tackled palletizing challenges

Palletizing could appear easy—till you’re lifting 43-pound containers all day, stacking them six toes excessive, and struggling to search out staff prepared to tackle the grueling activity. For one pizza dough producer, this bottleneck wasn’t simply slowing manufacturing—it was making staffing a continuing headache. The answer? Automation. See how Robotiq’s PE20 palletizer helped them overcome area constraints, scale back reliance on temp labor, and preserve manufacturing shifting. 

The corporate

This explicit buyer has a singular focus: they make and distribute pizza dough. With only a handful of SKUs, their course of is streamlined—however not with out its challenges. Their dough balls are packed into containers and shipped to distributors serving eating places, retail, and meals service companies.

The problem: a job nobody needed

Palletizing may seem easy, however for this producer, it turned a significant bottleneck. The containers weighed as much as 43 kilos every (20 kg), and stacks reached as much as six toes excessive (1.8m). The repetitive lifting and overhead work made it an extremely strenuous job—one which was nearly not possible to employees.

The corporate relied closely on temp labor to fill their two 10-hour shifts, which got here at a excessive value and with fixed turnover. In some instances, manufacturing needed to decelerate simply to shift staff to cowl the palletizing activity. It was clear: this job wanted automation.

Why Robotiq’s answer was the proper match (actually)  

A number of elements made Robotiq’s palletizing answer the correct selection:

1. Dealing with Heavy Bins – The corporate was initially contemplating a heavier-duty industrial robotic, however the timing was good: Common Robots had simply elevated the payload capability of the UR20 from 20 kg to 25 kg. This meant that as a substitute of going with a bigger system, they may deploy the compact and environment friendly PE20 cobot palletizer, which was cheaper and higher suited to their wants.
2. A Compact Footprint – House was tight. Conventional industrial palletizers have been removed from ideally suited as a result of their massive footprint. Robotiq’s answer, with its versatile and compact design, was in a position to match into the client’s obtainable area with simply inches to spare. With the assistance of Robotiq’s utility crew, the setup was optimized to operate seamlessly inside these constraints.
3. Good Path Planning – In a cluttered setting, motion issues. Robotiq’s software program permits customers to outline restricted zones, making certain the robotic can function effectively even in shut quarters. This was important in making the system work throughout the buyer’s workspace.

Recommendation for producers contemplating automation

In the event you suppose automation isn’t attainable to your facility, suppose once more. This buyer initially assumed their constraints—field weight, restricted area, and the character of their operation—would make robotic palletizing not possible. However by bringing the problem to Robotiq, they discovered an answer tailor-made to their wants.

For any producer dealing with labor shortages, excessive turnover, or bodily demanding duties, the important thing takeaway is that this: don’t rule out automation earlier than exploring the probabilities. With the correct know-how and the correct crew, even the hardest challenges will be solved.

In the event you’re combating an analogous bottleneck, attain out. We’ll enable you discover a method to make automation give you the results you want.