Industrial robot sales in food and beverage processing continue to grow and now represent the second largest growth sector behind automotive, according to the Rapid Growth Ahead for Industrial Robots in Food and Beverage Processing infographic released by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

Industrial robot sales in the Americas are estimated at $3.5 billion, with the market for industrial robots sold into the food, beverage and personal care industry projected at $456.1 million, or 13 percent of all industrial robot sales in the Americas.

Applications for industrial robots are moving into meat processing, fruit and vegetable handling and pick and place for processed foods. This expansion is due to technology advances such as end of arm tooling or gripping technology, robots being able to withstand hygienic and harsh conditions, the introduction of collaborative robots, easy programming and set-up, flexibility and the advances in artificial intelligence.

Robot selection varies upon application. Processors looking to add robots to their manufacturing lines are looking at payload, working envelope, footprint, speed, accuracy and repeatability.

ProFood Tech (March 26-28, 2019, McCormick Place, Chicago) will showcase the latest advances in robots for food and beverage processing. Produced by three of the world’s trade show leaders, PACK EXPO, Koelnmesse (organizer of Anuga) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the three-day event will showcase cutting-edge crossover technologies and innovative solutions from 400 exhibitors over 125,000 net square feet of exhibit space. Register online at profoodtech.com.

Download the full infographic below.