Automation in packing and palletising
Across many of our packing and palletising plants, automation is now the norm. These facilities run 24/7 with minimal human intervention, supported by Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) – driverless forklifts designed specifically for our Co-op’s operations. AGVs handle tasks such as loading empty bag pallets, unloading finished pallets and restacking them at designated drop-off points, ensuring smooth and efficient operations.
Most of our packing process is highly automated. Bags are de-stacked, opened, filled and heat-sealed without manual input. Once sealed, they pass through our in-house image cognition system, which uses cameras and machine learning to inspect every bag for quality issues. After checking the weight, foreign matter detection, and printing of traceable information on the bags, the bags are palletised by robots, stretch wrapped, labelled and transported by AGVs.
To further enhance quality assurance, we’re working to replace manual Product Customer Acceptance (PCA) checks with advanced computer vision tools such as LiDAR, a laser-based technology that helps detect shapes, measure distances, and spot defects, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR), a system of verifying packaging information. These technologies will assess pallet stability, ensure correct labelling, and verify that products are securely packed – bringing greater consistency and coverage to our quality checks.
date: 2025-08-14 00:10:00