Cover Feature
From Smart Valves to Smart Factories
Whether talking about a humble smart valve that can collect critical equipment data or a fully automated shop, the flexibility and scalability of automation make it possible for CPG firms of any size to benefit from the technology.
A floor-to-cloud approach to packaging automation gives CPG firms real-time visibility and control that optimize operations.
Courtesy of Emerson
Three experts recently shared with Packaging Strategies their perspectives on how automation can improve the efficiency of packaging operations.
In his cleverly titled contribution “Optimizing Packaging Operations from Floor to Cloud,” Emerson’s Mark Densley talks about how such an approach can help with monitoring energy and other resource use, which is especially important as companies set net-zero goals and develop sustainability metrics.
Komari America’s Doug Schardt explores the concept of the “Smart Factory,” which can be described as machines talking to machines and moving job information automatically between them. He notes that implementation of a Smart Factory can range from fully automated to partially automated, with both routes offering significant benefits.
Bosch Rexroth’s Armando Gonzalez also talks about movement between machines, but in this case the technology of focus is autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), which can significantly reduce the amount of time workers spending running around the shop.
Read below to delve into the scenarios laid out by these industry experts. While the common thread is automation, each approaches the subject from a fresh and unique angle.
AMRs Move CPG Manufacturers into the Next Phase of Factory Automation
By Armando Gonzalez, Business Leader of AMR/Robotics for North America at Bosch Rexroth
Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are here to help revitalize the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry and help humans move their operations into the next phase of factory automation. As the industry enters this critical next stage of production efficiency, it’s critical to remember that humans remain the key to making mobile robots successful in manufacturing facilities, warehouses and distribution centers...
Optimizing Packaging Operations from Floor to Cloud
By Mark Densley, Director of Business Development for Factory Automation, Emerson
CPG companies face competing pressures. While customer demand continues to grow, so do skills gaps and labor shortages. As companies focus on sustainability, they must maintain high productivity. To remain competitive in a global market, it’s critical that CPGs excel in all these areas at once. Although it seems like these challenges require different solutions, there’s one solution that addresses them all — digital transformation...
The ‘Smart Factory’ and Package Printing Automation
By Doug Schardt, Director of Product Management for Komori America
Packaging printers are continually in search of productive processes that use less labor to meet the needs of their customers. The hands-on methods required by package printing press operators in the past have become troublesome in this growing business environment. Removing the operator’s tweaking of the controls and allowing the machines to optimize process control and automation technology in the way they were intended...
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