Robots Serve Expanding Role In Food Operations

By John Henry, www.changeover.com

Feed the machine or let the machine feed us? If we're talking the food industry’s robots, it's likely to be the latter. Robots are becoming so common today, from vacuum cleaners to automated yogurt kiosks and beyond, that we hardly notice them anymore. 

They bring significant advantages to food manufacturing. Cost is first in most people's minds. The initial cost can be significant, but getting cheaper every year. Still, robots normally have a very fast payback, sometimes only taking months. This is even more evident in multi-shift operations. Robots also can improve production capacity and quality, while reducing medical costs and lost time due to employee injuries in repetitive work situations.