Today, manufacturers of consumer goods are concentrating their production into large-scale units. The market is expanding, more and more new products are being introduced, and demands for a market adaptation for everyday goods are escalating. All this creates great demand for availability and flexibility with regard to the equipment that processes the products. Therefore, the executive management of ABB has announced in its recent annual report a concentrated focus on utilizing robots in the production of consumer goods.

Robots are cost-effective, and their pay-back time is subsequently short. They also mean improved ergonomics on the packaging line. A robot, for instance, can be used for machine tending and packaging as well as for stacking on pallets and trays. And, a robot is capable of handling many products: from hygienic articles to foodstuffs such as coffee, ice cream, corn products, chocolate, and beverages.
The French producer of Mumm champagne has been using ABB robots in its packaging line since 1979. According to Mumm, the result has been a faster production flow, reduced wastage, and less space requirement.
In Switzerland, the big maker of chocolate, Milka, previously used conventional packaging machines, but now uses robots. Five robots package three different cartons with a variety of different-sized chocolate cookies.
Before, the employees had to count the cookies on six packaging lines manually. Now, the robots count and package the cookies while processing 31 metric tons of chocolate each during every shift. This speeds up production and improves the working environment, according to the company. Reprogramming a robot for different cartons is quickly done, and it also checks the quality of the wrapping paper for the chocolate cookies.
“Conventional packaging equipment is designed specifically for each product and dimensioned for the production peaks that only occur a few times a year,” says Kenneth Lundberg, who heads ABB Flexible Automation’s global efforts in the consumer-goods sector.
“A robot can meet the tough demands of the consumer-goods industry regarding production, and it can be used for a wide range of products. Its short relearning time leads to a high degree of utilization.”

Turnkey Solutions
ABB Flexible Automation offers turnkey robotics solutions for high-volume products in accordance with a standard concept. Reliability is much higher than for conventional machines, claims the company. Customers have access to local installation and service expertise anywhere in the world.
The market potential in the consumer-goods sector has been estimated at 10,000 robots up to the year 2000. The company has so far delivered about 400 robotics systems to multinational manufacturers of consumer-goods, including Unilever, Nestlé, Kimberly Clark, and Philip Morris.

Caption 1: Mumm, a big French producer of champagne, has been able to achieve greater effectiveness and lower wastage by using robots on its production line.

Caption 2: The use of robots means increased flexibility and improved ergonomics on the packaging line.

For further information, please contact:
ABB Flexible Automation Inc.
Ann Smith, Marketing Communication Manager
2487 South Commerce Drive
New Berlin, WI 53151, USA
Phone (414) 785 8532
Fax (414) 785 0342
http://www.abb.se/robotics/welcome.htm

ABB Flexible Automation
Mats Skoglund, Marketsegment Manager, Consumer Goods
S-721 68 Västerås, Sweden
Phone: +46 21-34 42 99
Fax: +46 21-34 41 88
E-post: mats.skoglund@serop.mail.abb.com
http://www.abb.se/robotics/welcome.htm

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