According to estimates, the global packaged food market will reach USD 3.03 trillion by 2020. The busy lives of the urban professionals and lack of time to cook food from scratch are the two important factors contributing to the growth of this industry, and there are no signs of a slowdown in this growth. This rapid increase has forced the food processing industry businesses to think of automation because they intend to keep meeting the increasing demand by offering top quality products and stay afloat despite the increasing competition levels.
As per Steven Brown, an automation engineer at Equustek Solutions Inc., “More and more companies involved in food processing industry are opting for industrial automation to make sure the processes are efficient and their production is higher than ever.”
Benefits of Factory Automation through bridging devices in Food Processing Industry
If you are involved in the food processing industry, and you are thinking about opting for automation then here are some benefits that will help you to make up your mind.
Ø Labor Reduction
The biggest benefit of industrial automation for all the sectors is that it allows the industries to be less dependent on human effort. In the food processing industry, when you don’t need humans to produce, segregate or pack the foods, it ensures that you don’t have to worry about when the employee’s check-in or when they check out. The production of processed foods can go on without any human intervention.
Ø Standardization of Food
Another benefit of factory automation is that it allows an industrial unit to produce food with the same quality time and again. Once the standard parameters are set, automation will ensure that no product that fails to meet the quality standards gets to the customers. The consistency of quality by using automation tools using bridging networks like ethernet, dh+, and df1 ensures that the customers relate quality with a processed food brand and stay loyal to it.
Ø Easy Expansion
Taking your food processing business to new horizons is easy with automation because you have the basic setup and you just need to add more equipment to the unit to ensure that you expand production. For instance, if your industrial unit produces 2,000 gallons of juice every day, and the demand rises to 3,000 gallons, you can easily add more equipment when your unit is automated. In contrast, if the processes are not automated, you will need to not only buy the equipment but also add on more labor which can be quite tedious and time-consuming at times.
Ø Enhanced Safety
Worker safety in food processing plants has always been a touchy issue and thankfully, automation addresses that. When you automate the processes in an industrial unit, only a minimal amount of people would need to deal with the job hazards like operating the machines manually. This will also increase your employer branding as employees prefer to work with employers who keep their safety and well being in mind.
Ø Better Transparency
When a business ensures quality, safety, while maintaining high levels of production thanks to automation, it boosts the transparency of an organization. As transparency is essential to winning customer trust in the food processing industry, your brand value will increase. The better brand value will help you to expand the customer base, increase revenue and boost your presence across the globe.
Conclusion
In essence, it can be seen that factory automation is a boon for the food processing industry as it helps you to boost your business in multiple ways. Though the initial investment might be costly, it will offer long-lasting rewards and provide a return on investment faster than even your imagination.
