Faced with rising costs and labour shortages, many smaller and medium-sized food and drink enterprises in the UK find it difficult to get a foot on the automation ladder, to help them improve and streamline production processes. But there is help at hand.
In May last year, the Food & Drink Federation (FDF) reported that 41% of food and drink manufacturers were scaling back investment in long-term productivity drivers, as sector confidence remained low.
Indeed the pressure on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in food and drink manufacturing has ramped up in the past few years, with pressures coming from multiple areas, including skills shortages leading to higher costs (up 4.4% over 2025 on average rising up to 5.3% for small businesses) and an overall lack of confidence during the crucial Christmas trading period last year.
However, there is an increasing appetite among the country’s SME food and drink manufacturers to invest in technology and exporting, with more than two-fifths (41%) of smaller businesses looking to increase spend on machinery and automation and two-fifths wanting to grow sales abroad. This, says the FDF, hints at the ambition to modernise and automate factory processes – and it is keen to gain Government support for agile and innovative SMEs to achieve their goals.
Government policy is key to unlocking the benefits of automation for UK SMEs, notes trade association Automate UK. However, two areas that can move the dial on this include fostering partnerships between SMEs and technology providers and creating platforms to share automation success stories. Both of these can help to dispel any negative perceptions over the high initial cost of investment and the length of time it takes to see a return (ROI).
Don’t be afraid to invest
At Multivac, Henry Brook, sales & marketing director, points out that if you ask someone what they think of when they hear the word ‘automation’, most people’s minds probably flip to robot arms making cars. “Yes, that is automation,” he says. “But a thermoforming packaging machine that automatically packs 10 products a minute, in a process previously done by hand on a bag sealer with three people, is also automation – and SMEs should not be afraid to invest.”
As he points out, SMEs make up about 97% of the UK’s food and drink manufacturing sector and it is these companies that Multivac is seeking to address with its entry-level Compact Series, which is a full suite of equipment across the portfolio. The technology company is aware that it has a reputation for working with larger industrial clients but is keen to emphasise that its equipment covers the whole gamut of food and drink manufacturing from small start-ups to the largest businesses.
From foodservice to retail suppliers, the company is adjusting to changes in the market, covering shortages in skills not only for the manufacturers themselves, but also for their clients. “One of our salesmen told me that in some kitchens, these days, chefs are being deskilled – they don’t want them actually portioning pieces of fish, for example, so the manufacturer involved was being asked to supply more and more filleted fish.”
In both the hospitality and retail sectors, however, food manufacturing clients are seeking consistency from the products they buy. So, while chefs may look to have identical portions of food for, say, a signature dish, equally retailers are demanding consistency in packaged products. “They don’t want to have steaks that are different thicknesses, sizes or shapes,” says Brook. “So, for manufacturers, being able to portion accurately and consistently to minimise waste or ‘give-away’ is important. The reality is this can only be obtained from a portioning or slicing machine.”
Scaling up egg products
In one example, a UK egg producer was faced with the need to increase efficiency and output for its range of quality hard boiled eggs, poached eggs and egg mayonnaise. Having worked with Multivac since 2007, the producer had originally invested in a Multivac T 200 Traysealer for its production line, which had delivered a reliable performance ever since. However, after reviewing alternative options in the market, the producer returned to Multivac and selected a higher-spec rotary T255 Traysealer above a direct drawer-system replacement of the T200. This gave it the capacity for higher output and the flexibility to produce different products on the same line with ease.
Also important was the need to quicken the production process with an upgrade that was easy for its employees to operate. Multivac installed a pack lifter within the rotary die set, making it simpler for the operator to remove after sealing and thus speeding up loading times. In addition, pack format changeovers became more rapid and efficient, allowing the producer to move between twin packs and round pots as needed.
Innovation on trial
Keeping the quality is high and waste to a minimum is also vital for food manufacturing SMEs who are often operating on very thin margins. One of the trump cards that Multivac can play is its Innovation Centre in Swindon, where clients can come and try out equipment on products they are actually processing. “If a manufacturer, of whatever size, is going to spend a substantial amount of money on equipment, they need to be able to look at it and see that it works for them, so they can try before they buy. Our UK facility is a real asset in that sense – and we can also step that up to on-site trials.”
As Brook notes, manufacturers are looking for increasingly rapid return on investments (ROI) in capital equipment as the costs of doing business keep rising, but the main two reasons they will spend on automation is either to reduce operating costs or increase output. “It’s one of those two,” he says. “So, it’s an opportunity for us to help them solve a problem.” In that sense, trust is everything – as Multivac has to prove the equipment’s value and worth time and again – and is keen to do so.
Multivac's Compact Series
‘Small but mighty’ is the tagline for Multivac’s range of compact equipment, ranging from thermoforming, traysealers and vacuum chamber machines, through slicing and portioning on the TVI range to inspection and end-of-line solutions such as labelling and packaging. Suitable for start-up and scale-up businesses entering the market or looking to improve existing products. all solutions in the Compact Series have a small footprint, to allow manufacturers to enhance their processing while saving space in their production facility.
“The Compact Series is the first step on the ladder of automation for many SMEs and we’re here to speak with them,” he concludes. “Come and see us at the Farm Shop & Deli Show at the NEC in Birmingham on 13-15 April where we will be showcasing this range. Or visit us at the PPMA show, also in Birmingham, on 22-24 September this year. We have this range of affordable equipment that is just right for businesses that are less industrial and at the smaller end of the scale. Many are producing quality food that’s close to their heart and want quality equipment to suit. That’s where we come in.”
To discover more about Multivac’s Compact series and how it can help with automation challenges, click here.
