Frozen food firm gets taste of automation

Versapack has beaten off competition from traditional robots to automate end-ofline packaging at frozen food manufacturer, apetito.

The company chose the Versapack from Quin Systems to automate two desserts hand packing lines. It is simple to operate and set up for different products and case sizes. It's also faster, more compact and has lower operating costs and maintenance requirements than many conventional robotics solutions.

With a packaging head based upon the Quin Rtheta technology, Versapack achieves 70 pick and place cycles/min. Its 1.8m square footprint is compact enough to fit easily into handpacking space. The specification for each line was 84 packs a minute ( just 14 pick and place cycles per minute), well within the capabilities of the Versapack.

The company says installation involved less structural work than would have been necessary with conventional robots. The Versapack is versatile so apetito can change product, packing format or cases, should the need arise.