Agrana Fruit, FR - Powder pre-mix automation
Agrana Fruit is the global market leader for fruit preparation, with 25 production sites worldwide. At their Mitry Mory site in France, they have automated their powder pre-mix preparation with an APRIL Robotics Weighing System. By automating their previously manual process, they have achieved a step-change in safety, quality, accuracy of weighing and efficiency.
Background
Agrana Fruit is one of three divisions of the Agrana Group, a global Austrian food business that produces sugar, starch and fruit. Agrana Fruit produces fruit preparations for the dairy market (yoghurt with fruit), ice cream and out-of-home catering.
In 2019, the group were looking at opportunities to transform its operations. The intention was to increase levels of automation and reduce manual handling issues throughout their operations. Ingredient weighing, specifically powder weighing, was identified as a key opportunity.
Challenge
The original weighing process at Agrana Fruit was entirely manual. Two operators per shift were responsible for carrying out all powder weighing. Manual handling and RSI were two key pain points, cross-contamination, a key quality risk.
Traditional material handling auger-based systems couldn’t provide the flexibility required to automate their weighing process. Fewer than 20 ingredients could be “live”, and the weighing range was too restrictive.
Agrana needed a system capable of handling over 50 ingredients that can be dosed to an accuracy of +/-1% with a weighing range lower than 1kg.
Solution
The APRIL Weighing System was chosen following successful powder weighing trials and digital simulations. A selection of Agrana’s ingredients were tested on OAL’s test system in the UK to demonstrate weighing accuracy and cycle time. Production data was modelled against a system simulation to demonstrate the system had the capacity required for today’s and future production.
The project includes real-time ingredient traceability and tracking between Agrana’s ERP system, SAP and the APRIL Weighing System.
The system was fully built and tested at OALs HQ in Peterborough, including integration testing. On-site delivery, the system had been fully debugged, enabling a fast start-up.
Key results
The installed system weighs powders from 250g to 25kg, significantly reducing the labour required. Over 95% of manual weighments have been automated with only additions under 250g completed manually.
The target weighing accuracy for the project was +/-1%. For most powders, an accuracy of +/-0.5% has been achieved, improving quality and reducing waste.
“In terms of safety, quality and weighing accuracy, the APRIL cell fully delivers against our expectations. I would say that the relationship with OAL has been good to excellent. We’ve had a lot to learn about automation and robotics, and OAL has been supportive every step of the way.”
If you’re looking for a precise and automated process for powder weighing, contact us today!
At a glance
Customer since: 2020
Challenge
Automate complex powder weighing process (50+ ingredients)
Reduce the risk of manual handling and injuries
Eliminate cross-contamination
Solution
APRIL Robotics Weighing System with 120 ASC locations
Integration with SAP ERP for real-time ingredient traceability and usage
Co-development and ongoing system support
Results
Average dosing accuracy better than target +/-1%
Vertical start-up following pre build and FAT at OAL, UK
Plan to roll out robotic weighing to other manufacturing sites
