Tetra Pak to unveil the ‘Factory of the Future’
The company says it wants to offer greater support to its customers in the digital era, where digital technology revolutionises the way food manufacturing plants operate.
Tetra Pak Plant Secure
The latest technology to be unveiled at the tradeshow, in Germany (April 1-5), includes machines that can communicate with each other as well as with digital systems of the entire operation, automatically diagnosing problems, ordering and delivering parts and finding the best engineer for the job.
The technology builds on previous measures to bring the benefits of digitalisation to the food and beverage industry, such as the launch of Tetra Pak Plant Secure and condition monitoring.
Tetra Pak Plant Secure is a plant management service using Industry 4.0 technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, and data velocity, which with its data-driven analytics can identify and deliver improvements across a customer’s value chain.
Pilot projects have been carried out in the Americas and Europe, including an Americas-based dairy producer who reduced operational costs by more than 10% in the first year of implementation.
“We are in a period where the market is changing at high speed. Consumer demands coupled with regulations require a new way of food manufacturing that is more efficient and food-safety guaranteed,” said Johan Nilsson, VP Industry 4.0 and Digitalisation, Tetra Pak.
“At the same time, we believe humans should continue to be at the centre of the management of food manufacturing, with digital technology as their support.”
Supported by smart technology, the Factory of the Future will allow employees to focus on managing the plant, making quick, informed decisions and continuously increasing the speed of production, reducing errors and minimising product waste.
Bühler Microsoft Azure
Bühler is another company showcasing its digital technology in partnership with Microsoft at Hannover Messe.
Building on Microsoft’s technologies, including Azure and Azure Blockchain, it has developed Bühler Insights, cloud platform for the food industry to achieve significant progress in improving safety, quality, efficiency, and traceability across food production value chains.
“Our goal is to secure safe food while reducing 30% of waste and 30% of energy in these processes by 2020. Our collaboration with Microsoft has opened up massive opportunities to achieve these goals,” said Stuart Bashford, digital officer, Bühler Group.
Çağlayan Arkan, global lead, Manufacturing & Resources Industry, Microsoft, added the collaboration offers a highly secure, global and scalable cloud infrastructure alongside innovative technologies for connected services and connected factories.
Technology connected to the Bühler Insights platform, which will be showcased at Hannover Messe include: Laatu which can reduce microbial contamination in dry goods; Tubex Pro a smart, self-optimizing, scale system that provides real-time production data; Yield Management System and Mill E3, a mill concept which consumes less energy per ton of processed wheat than a conventional mill.
The first Mill E3 is being developed for Whitworth Bros, a UK leading wheat miller in the UK.
