Case Study: Coffee Distributor
A major coffee distributor based out of the Pacific Northwest purchases and sells coffee, espresso, pastries and coffee-related accessories through their retail stores, as well as supermarket chains. The company’s goal is to establish themselves as the most recognized and respected “brand” in the world. To achieve this goal, the Company plans to continue to rapidly expand its retail operations, grow its specialty sales and other operations, and selectively pursue opportunities to leverage their brand through the introduction of new products and the development of new distribution channels.
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Challenge
Automate palletizing and wrapping of multiple size cases.
- Integrate conveyors with 4 existing case packaging lines and leave capacity to add a 5th packaging line.
- Install a mezzanine to support the conveyors overhead to eliminate interference with floor operations.
- Reduce labor costs. 98%+ Uptime for packaging lines.
Key Technologies
- Two ABB IRB660 Robots with IRC5 controllers (affectionately named “Alpha” & “Omega” by the company)
- Allen Bradley PLC for conveyor and shuttle control
- Three Panelview 1000 Plus for the Human Machine Interface (HMI)
- 2 Diagraph Ink Jet Labelers
- Wulftec Stretch Wrapper
- High Speed Rack & Pinion Transfer Car
- 90 Degree Transfer Belt.
Results
- Labor required was reduced by 20 people in the first year, with potential for 25 once line 5 is installed.
- “Alpha” Robot (Lines 2 & 3) has a combined rate of palletizing 21.7 cases / minute.
- “Omega” Robot (Lines 1 & 4) has a combined rate of 16 cases / minute.
- The system has the capacity to handle an additional 5 cases / minute with the future Line 5.
