Kort fortalt - Mælkeritidende

Newest Automation
Technology
By Annette
N. Andersen,
Marketing
Coordinator,
Bila A/S
The customers are looking for one
supplier that is able to offer them
overall solutions - solutions that lead
to a significant higher productivity
and efficiency and also improvement
of their bottom line. This is where we
can benefit from our many years of
experience within the dairy sector.
But the key to success also lies within
the close co-operation with our customers
and the tools we use to optimize
the course of events.
Co-operation with the
customer
When we start co-operating with a
customer we do not only see him as
a customer - but as a strategic partner.
This kind of co-operation is important
in order for us to be able to
develop present and future projects.
”With a close dialog and control
throughout the entire project - both
internally at Bila A/S but also with
the customer - the risk of misunderstandings
is minimized”, says managing
Director Jan B. Sørensen.
Through co-operation with our strategic
partners we have developed sev-
At Bila A/S in Denmark, which is one of the leading suppliers
of overall solutions within ”downstream” and ”end-of-line”
equipment for dairies in Northern Europe, we are constantly
focused on being at the cutting edge of the newest technology
within automation.
eral successful standard-concepts. An
example is the newly developed “Bila
Milk Packer” which is a combined robot
cell for fast and efficient packing
of milk cartons in either plastic boxes
or containers. This cell can handle up
to 9.600 milk cartons per hour.
Masterplan as a tool
In order to find the best solution for
our customers we use Masterplan as
a tool. Based on the questions in the
Masterplan, the manufacturing process
from beginning to end is examined
and the various issues are noted.
This way we gain insight into ways of
increasing the efficiency through automation
and ways of protecting employees
from monotonous work. Already
after the first visit, we are able
to draw up the budget for potential
suggestions for solutions based on
the Masterplan.
Constant developement
To follow the tendencies within the
dairy sector and at the same time be
at the forefront of the development,
we keep a constant focus on the development
of new automation solutions.
We use almost 10.000 hours
every year for development. ”With
our huge focus on development, our
employees are perfected and at the
same time, we are able to act very
quickly to changes in the market and
in the needs of the customers”, says
Chief of Development, Frank Gade.
Automation at smaller
companies
At the cooperative Them Dairy in
Denmark, the question was not
whether to get a robot cell, but how
quickly they could get it. With an increased
demand from the market, the
need for enlargement of the capacity
arose at the dairy. The solution was
at the same time going to release the
employees of the daily heavy and monotonous
work. A manual job that included
lifting and carrying cheeses
from a conveyor belt and into plastic
boxes placed on pallets, which also
had to be moved on a regular basis.
”Due to increasing market demands
we had the need for transferring employees
to other job functions within
the dairy. We never meant to cut
down when getting the robot cell. We
have good stable employees, which
we want to offer interesting jobs,
and that’s why installation of the robot
plant was evident”, says Them’s
Dairy Manager, Svend Andersen.
Bila A/S was chosen as the supplier
for this project, as the dairy’s board
of directors had previous and very
good experiences with Bila A/S’s robot
plants. Due to this confidence and
sense of security regarding our expertise
and know-how, Bila A/S became
the supplier.
The solution was a palletizing plant
with a Kawasaki ZD130 robot. After
the paraffin plant, the cheeses are
transported to the next station to be
42 MÆLKERITIDENDE 2010 NR. 8