Company Background
CP Foods UK is a leading poultry producer supplying retailers, manufacturers, and foodservice operators across the UK. Focused on food safety, quality, and adaptability, the company continuously seeks to respond to evolving customer and retailer demands. Its UK facilities prepare and package chicken products for a highly competitive market.

Challenge
CP Foods UK faced the challenge of modernizing a key packing line that was outdated, inefficient, and heavily reliant on manual labor. The goal was to develop a high-speed, fully automated line capable of:
• Packing 120 trays per minute
• Achieving 85% overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
• Maintaining a 1% product reject rate
The company aimed to improve resilience and flexibility in operations while making work more engaging for employees.

Solution
CP Foods partnered with Gripple, a Sheffield-based engineering company, and OMRON, a global leader in industrial automation, to design a bespoke robotic packaging system. Key elements of the solution included:
1. Servo-driven robotics: A custom-designed machine that operates quietly, smoothly, and efficiently.
2. Innovative multi-stack gripper system: Capable of picking and placing five packs at once, meeting the line’s high-speed requirements.
3. OMRON Sysmac automation platform: Integrates all machine functions—PLC control, vision systems, sensors, robotics, safety systems, and servo drives—into a single software environment, simplifying operation and increasing flexibility.

Implementation
The collaboration between Gripple and OMRON engineers was crucial. They focused on understanding the production environment, integrating the new system with existing infrastructure, and developing software in parallel with hardware to optimize performance.
Benefits:
1. Operational Efficiency: The new system meets high-speed throughput targets and ensures consistent, reliable packaging.
2. Employee Engagement: Engineers and operators gained hands-on experience with advanced robotics, improving job satisfaction and enthusiasm.
3. Flexibility for Future Projects: The system is highly adaptable, allowing CP Foods to meet future demands and explore additional automation opportunities.

Conclusion
The automation project not only improved performance and reliability but also energized the workforce and positioned CP Foods UK for future growth. According to company leaders, this project marks the beginning of a broader adoption of next-generation robotics, enhancing operational flexibility and employee engagement.

Source: www.pandct.com