PW: What was the best part about these particular robotic installations?
VanderDeen: The clean slate we had was nice. Too often you’re in the position of having to install a piece of equipment that, technology-wise, is way ahead of everything else on the line or in the plant. Problems with communications among machines don’t surface as much when you start with a clean slate.
PW: Do you think the food and beverage sectors represent a growth area for robotics?
VanderDeen: Judging by the reaction of a lot of people who have visited our plant, I’d say yes. Their jaws drop when they see what we’ve done with robots, almost as if they’ve never seen an application of robots in packaging. I don’t know how, if you are in most sectors of manufacturing, you can even write a business plan without including robots.
PW: What should buyers of robotic solutions avoid?
VanderDeen: One thing they have to avoid is flimsy equipment. If automation is the right thing, do the right thing right. Don’t do the right thing wrong, because it will come back to haunt you and turn you off where automation is concerned.
PW: What about the cost of robotics in packaging?
VanderDeen: I think we’re past the point where we’ll continue to see further decreases that are dramatic. Thank the automotive industry for getting cost down to where it is today. But it can only get so low. One thing to keep in mind in evaluating cost, however, is the whole issue of how versatile robots are. You can reprogram them to do just about anything. That helps minimize the upfront risk in buying one. After all, if it doesn’t work in the original application for which you bought it, you can tweak it and use it elsewhere.
