Brillopak’s five-year phased automation roadmap has accelerated packing efficiency at Morrisons’ fresh produce operations site based in Thrapston, Northamptonshire.
Embarking on a mission to reconfigure its fresh produce packing hall at Thrapston, the Morrisons Centre of Excellence - which prepares and delivers 130 million packs of fruit every year to 82 stores - has succeeded in its automation vision and ambition.
Brillopak supported Thrapston at every phase of the five-year programme. In total, the company installed 11 fully integrated fresh produce packing lines which included about 40 machines, with equipment and capital investments split across three defined phases.
Rather than piecemeal different technologies together, Thrapston’s site manager at the time, Matthew Peczek, sought a cohesive automation investment approach to increase efficiency, achieve packing consistency and optimise produce quality.
Taking the decision to completely redevelop the factory layout in 2017, Peczek was resolute that all machinery would be designed and placed linearly, with everything coming from the chillers and out to the back end for distribution, in one continuous flow. This linear vision has since been realised, as now, every part of the line faces in the same direction throughout the packing hall.
Having seen the possibilities accomplished when managing the Morrisons’ Rushden depot, Peczek, who is now head of operations for produce at the company, was confident that Brillopak’s engineering team would see the bigger picture and deliver these transformational benefits.
In 2016, Brillopak delivered stage one - optimising the manual packing of apples into crates. Thrapston commissioned five of Brillopak’s ergonomic PAKStations to replace less efficient manual packing and turntable operations.
To support these apple-packing lines and eliminate any potential bottlenecks, two Crate DESTAKers, five bale arm closers and five double stackers for palletising were also introduced. The result was five integrated packing lines that maintained a consistent packing pace, each feeding out onto the main track to an existing palletising system.
This first phase was intentionally designed as a holding pattern in Thrapston’s automation plan, allowing for the subsequent robotic machines that were to follow. “As a result of the fast payback due to labour efficiency, enhanced produce quality and reduced complaints, the plan was always to replace the PAKStations within two years,” explains Peczek. Swapping out with three fully automated UniPAKer robotic crate packing systems in phase two. It was, he affirms, always central to its produce strategy of improving quality and process efficiency and reducing costs and waste.
The Brillopak team built the framework of the PAKStations to match the dimensions of the UniPAKer machines, as well as the conveyor infeed and outfeed heights; enabling a seamless and simple swap over, to mitigate any packaging disruption.
Applying the best practice gained from phases one and two, in 2021 Thrapston completed its full-scale automation transformation with the roll out of six new linear packing lines. Handling a range of flow wrapped and tray sealed fresh produce, including pears, tomatoes, apricots, blueberries and grapes, Brillopak delivered a further five UniPAKers, one PAKstation, six bale arm closers, two Crate DESTAKers and six double stackers.
With 40 individual Brillopak machines now on site and running continuously, Peczek upholds the value of working with a single and reliable integrator. “We had a clear vision of how the linear Thrapston packing lines would ultimately look and partnered with the Brillopak engineering team throughout every phase of the process,” he says.
The smoother and gentler handling of fresh produce has been proven to reduce complaints by over 30% and almost instantly, reports the head of operations.
With all five fresh produce sites now kitted out with end-to-end Brillopak machinery, a side-line benefit is how much the manufacturer has been able to streamline its stockholding of spares and components. “Dealing with one automation provider formed part of our produce directive,” says Peczek. “Being able to pre-plan projects and roll automation platforms out in phases as part of a wider, aligned plan certainly helps to mitigate investment risks.”
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