They don't need rest periods, they never throw a sickie and they work for less than a quarter of the minimum wage: robots are the key to the future of food manufacturing, according to leading automated systems supplier Mitsubishi.
"Food producers are under relentless pressure to reduce costs far more than any other sector," says Mitsubishi Electric's Jon Sumner. "While the cost goalposts are moved, quality specifications increase and there seems to be a growing demand for short-run special packaging requirements. Automating production is often the best way to drive down costs and robots can bring the same savings to traditionally labour intensive, high cost functions, such as finishing and packaging."
Mitsubishi, which recently added a high availability, redundant controller known as the QnPRH (left) to its powerful top-end Q series of programmable automation controllers (PACs), says the latest robot arms have brought costs crashing down to as little as £1.20 an hour over the six- to seven-year life of a machine.
"Significantly, robots are ideal for deployment in the making and packing of premium quality foods that are gaining in popularity as the British public turns away from over-processed food."
''Contact Mitsubishi Electric Tel 01707 276100''