Growth seen in use of robots in the food packaging sector

Supplying robotics to the food packaging industry will grow by a compounded annual growth rate of 12.7% between 2019 and 2025, according to a new report from Research and Markets.

By 2025 the global market for such robotics will be an estimated $3.107 billion. Geneva, Switzerland-based ABB, which has a manufacturing operation in Fort Smith, is listed in the report as one of the companies active in supplying robots to the food packaging industry.

“Driven by increasing food safety regulations, rising demand for packaged foods, growing demand to improve productivity, increasing production of low-cost robots, increase in investments for automated solutions in food industry, growing demand for reducing production cost and increasing food shelf-life, and entry of new-players which has led to the emergence of advanced robotic technologies,” noted the report.

Growth challenges to the industry include lack of a skilled workforce, high cost of installation, and high cost of maintenance.

But continued demand among consumers for packaged foods will help overcome the challenges, noted the report.

“The increasing demand for processed foods and the growing production volume of food products has significantly surged the demand for robotics and automation in the food industry. The flexibility, adaptability, and repeatability of the robots have highly influenced the food and beverage industry to adopt robots for various applications including palletizing, pick and place, processing, and packaging. The adoption of robotic systems has recently increased in the various food sectors such as dairy and dairy products, meat processing, and prepared foods.”

Other companies active in providing robots to the food industry include Rockwell Automation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.