In 2015, industrial robots had a good year—the best ever, in fact. According to the Robotic Industries Association, last year robot orders in North America set new records, with a total of 31,464 robots valued at $1.8 billion ordered from North American companies—an increase of 14% in units and 11% in dollars over 2014. Shipments set new records as well, with 28,049 robots valued at $1.6 billion shipped to North American customers, growing 10% in units and 9% in dollars over the previous records set in 2014.
While this includes all industry sectors, packaging was certainly part of this trend. In Part I of Packaging World’s Special Report on Robotics & Automation, we explore four consumer packaged goods food companies and one logistics provider that contributed to these record numbers. In almost all cases, these companies made the switch from a manual process on their packaging line to robotic automation to address pain points such as inconsistent or insufficient line speed and ergonomics issues resulting from manual operations.
Part II of this Special Report, which will appear in the September issue of PW, will highlight additional examples of packagers that have successfully incorporated robotics into the packaging lines.
Following are the five case studies in Part I of our special report:
Robotic bow-tying system adds personal touch to chocolate boxes
