Mastering the challenges

Corona pandemic, energy crisis, rising prices and supply chain problems: These are just a few of the numerous challenges that the German economy and society have recently had to face, and which still need to be overcome. In addition, despite numerous sustainability efforts, demand for packaged products continues to rise and consumers also want increasingly customized offerings in very specific areas. Manufacturers in the beverage industry in particular are under pressure to offer a wide variety of products while ensuring compliance with standards and norms.

Four methods and approaches are currently emerging as to how companies specializing in filling and capping mechanisms in the beverage industry are meeting these challenges.

1. more efficient equipment accelerates adaptation and changeover

As the number of stock keeping units (SKU) grows, it becomes even more important to keep changeover and adjustment processes short and simple. If it is difficult to make such machine and process changeovers efficient, such processes are likely to take even longer than usual because of the fine-tuning required. That's why more and more manufacturers are looking for machines that require little or no fine-tuning after changeover. By reducing complexity and relying on solutions that are easy to implement, customize and operate, manufacturers can improve the performance of their systems even as new challenges arise.

2 Increase flexibility with modular technologies

Flexible manufacturing is essential for companies that produce many different products in different combinations. When it comes to packaging beverages, systems are needed that can dynamically switch between container and cap sizes and apply matching labels to different items. Collaborative robots (cobots) are particularly well suited for this. Cobots can easily and quickly "learn" new tasks or variants with slightly different shapes or sizes. These extremely flexible robots have camera and image processing capabilities, they can recognize different product types and decide what the best next process step should be. Combined with a mobile base, a collaborative robot is ideal as a fully modular solution for handling and transporting material.

3. reliable systems for traceability

One of the most important aspects prescribed in beverage regulations and directives is "traceability", i.e. traceability. This means that companies must document and record exactly where products and raw materials come from, what they are used for, and where they are delivered. Printed barcodes, direct marking (DPM) or RFID tags, for example, are used for this purpose throughout the entire production process and supply chain. From the raw material supplier to the production line to the supermarket and customer, the production and distribution of a particular
of a particular beverage should be as transparent as possible. The scope and reach of traceability has expanded significantly in recent years hand in hand with technological advances, making it a critical task for leading international manufacturers. Today, the evolution of traceability, Traceability 4.0, is not only about tracking products along the entire supply chain, but also about optimizing productivity, quality and brand image within the manufacturing process by linking product and process parameters.

4. complete solutions for filling and capping liquids from a single automation partner

Machine builders currently face many additional challenges when integrating technologies from different suppliers into a single filling or capping machine. This can lead to longer build times, slower machine performance and more complex troubleshooting. End users in the industry are aware of these issues, so ideally they want to invest in complete packaging lines with multiple functions from a single source to circumvent difficulties and reduce the risk of failure during the life of a machine. Increasingly, filling and capping machine manufacturers are integrating solutions that enable companies in the industry to make their production processes more flexible and respond to changing consumer demands faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.

Author: Garry Lewis, Market Development Manager - Food, Beverage & Commodities, Omron