Palletizer keeps butter churning

With pressure to keep prices low, a dairy coop's move from manual to robotic palletizing will pay off in less than two years.

By Jeff O'Neill, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2006

Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association Inc. didn't need a better way to make butter: It needed a cheaper way.

The regional milk marketing and processing cooperative, located in Reston, Va., serves nearly 1,500 dairy farms in 11 states. Among its locations is a manufacturing plant in Laurel, Md., that processes butter and processed milk.

With pressure to keep dairy prices low, the cooperative members were looking for ways to improve production processes for its Laurel facility's butter division.

One area targeted for possible improvement was the packaging and palletizing process, which required manually packaging and palletizing its perishable butter in 50-pound and 25-kilogram boxes with plastic liners. This process, on average, required two and a half workers per shift and even more workers during seasonal shifts.

To improve packaging efficiency, the company turned to a robotic palletizer (Westfalia Technologies, 717-764-1115), which has reduced labor costs and risks associated with manual lifting. For this tool to work, a new surface needed to be poured over the old traditional brick floor. The robotic palletizer needed a level surface that contained less moisture.

The palletizer's rate, size, low power consumption, and simplicity fit Maryland & Virginia's requirements perfectly. The system as configured can handle six to eight cases per minute, lift up to 198 pounds and has a physical size of about 2.5 feet by 2 feet. An arm protrudes from the robot base to about 8.5 feet from center when fully extended.

An additional benefit is that the palletizer requires only 220 volts of power, avoiding an investment in an electrical upgrade.

"One person can now operate the line," says Randall Fischer, assistant division manager at Maryland & Virginia. "This system saves on manpower and eliminates the liability associated with a manual palletizing operation. Within two years, the palletizer will have paid for itself."