How robots help Nestle increase chocolate production by 50%

In early April 2021, ABB announced that its robots increased the productivity of Brazilian Nestlé plants by more than 50%. The use of SafeMove technology at production sites "increases the safety of employees and the efficiency of Nestle confectionery factories," ABB said.

The new compact tray robot, developed jointly by ABB and the Nestlé engineering team, uses a grip to move the boxes from the production line to the tray and carefully stacks the products on top of each other. At the same time, the SafeMove technology ensures safe cooperation between robots and workers of the production line.

Robots help Nestle increase chocolate production by 50%

President of ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation Sami Atiya notes:

Food manufacturers such as Nestlé need flexible robotic systems that can adapt to changing tastes and consumer demands.<...> Joint robotic technologies, such as SafeMove, help us meet all the requirements of manufacturers and automate small rooms anywhere in the production line without massive fences.

ABB robot monitoring software SafeMove controls the speed, motion and position of the robot as a person approaches. This allows people on production lines to safely work with large industrial robots without fences, safety switches and locks.

At the Nestlé plant in Kasapawa, the use of SafeMove instead of fences led to a decrease in the occupied area by about 30-40%. The new standard was so successful that it was now used at three other Nestlé plants in Brazil, where 13 robots are already working to put products on pallets, and further work is underway to install and commission new robotic systems.

The financial details of the contract were not disclosed.^[1]

Notes