WITH ROBOTS WELL ESTABLISHED IN END-OF-LINE OPERATIONS, UPSTREAM APPLICATIONS FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PACKAGING ARE THE NEW GROWTH AREA. THE UK IS BEGINNING TO MAKE MORE PROGRESS, BUT MUCH OF THE QUIET REVOLUTION IS BEING PLAYED OUT ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE, AS MICHAEL MADDOX DISCOVERED ON A VISIT TO GERMAN MANUFACTURER GERHARD SCHUBERT. Britain may still be some way down the European league of robot packaging machine users but the pace of change is quickening. For example, when snack food manufacturer Walkers sought a more flexible and lower cost means of producing multipacks, the company opted for robotic systems that can place up to three different varieties of crisp bag in any chosen combination directly into the in-feeds of flow-wrappers.
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