Double win for OAL at PPMA 2018

Innovative Vision Solution Award & Apprentice of the Year

PPMA awards

We’re very proud to announce that we took home two accolades at the PPMA Awards 2018. Our APRIL™ Eye system won the Innovative Vision Solution award, while Kyle Constable, Steam Infusion technical sales lead at OAL, was named Apprentice of the Year. We were also highly commended for our APRIL™ Robotics Ingredient Handling system! The awards recognise the finest examples of innovation, smart manufacturing and entrepreneurship in the UK food industry, and we’re delighted to have been acknowledged in three categories.

Eyes on the prize

APRIL™ Eye is the world’s first artificial intelligence vision solution. It fully automates the date code verification process to reduce the risk of product recalls and withdrawals caused by human error on packaging lines. The Innovative Vision Solution award celebrates equipment suppliers, system integrators or end users who have manufactured, designed or installed a clever, creative or innovative industrial solution. It’s fantastic that the PPMA appreciates how APRIL™ Eye can make a significant improvement to processes, safety, quality and efficiency and deliver cost savings to food manufacturers on their packaging lines.

By combining machine learning and artificial intelligence, APRIL™ Eye transforms the traditional date code verification process, which relies on operators to check the date code is printed correctly. APRIL™ Eye removes the human error inherent in these boring, repetitive tasks by reading back the date code, fully automating the date code verification process. The system can deal with variations such as lighting, positioning, print quality and placement to eliminate errors, protect consumers and the brand while at the same time reducing labour costs and waste - it’s the full package!

“You’re hired”

Acknowledging emerging talent within the food industry, the Apprentice of the Year award celebrates the most promising apprentice, and in particular their future leadership potential. Kyle Constable is a degree apprentice at OAL, helping UK and European food manufacturers adopt OAL’s Steam Infusion technology to ensure they maximise the benefits of the cooking process. With a strong background in the food industry having previously worked for Nestlé as a manufacturing apprentice, he is currently completing a degree in Food & Drink Manufacturing Operations Management at the University of Lincoln.

The award is designed to encourage more young people to take up careers in the industry, a cause that Kyle takes very seriously as he represents a success story of taking an apprenticeship route to gaining a degree qualification within the food industry and uses this experience to mentor students as part of the OAL CSR programme. It’s wonderful for Kyle to be recognised for such a prestigious award as it endorses his hard work combining studies with great performance at the company.

Harry Norman, owner of OAL, comments, “A double win at the PPMA awards - who could ask for more? We’re absolutely thrilled to win the Innovative Vision Solution PPMA Award and for Kyle to be recognised as the Apprentice of the Year. It really demonstrates to our peers the significance of the work that we’re doing and celebrates one of our team members and the valuable contribution that he makes, not just to our company but the industry as a whole.”  

We’re really making a difference at OAL. Want to join us on this journey? Get in touch to find out more about our award-winning solutions or if you want to be part of a team that values training and development, have a look at our careers page today.

OAL speaking & exhibiting at the Smart Food Factory Summit

We're very excited to be speaking and exhibiting at Food & Drink Business Europe's Smart Factory Summit 2017. The event is taking place on Tuesday 7 November 2017 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry and aims to bring together professionals from the UK's food and beverage industry to facilitate knowledge, sharing and collaboration.

Jake Norman, Head of Innovation at OAL will be speaking about how OAL are putting robotics and automation at the heart of food processing with our APRIL™ Robotics solutions. Hear how we have invested, researched and developed the very latest in advanced robotics and automation technology to help food manufacturers solve challenges driven by the increasing living wage, flat line productivity and food deflation.

Alongside Jake Norman's talk, visit our stand to see how we're using £4 million of Innovate UK research projects to bring about a step change in food manufacturing using technologies including collaborative robotics, advanced vision, machine learning and big data to tackle your productivity, food safety and traceability in your food factory.

Discover how you can turbocharge your cooking process with OAL's Steam Infusion heating and mixing technology scientifically proven to help food manufacturers overcome slow cooking times, burn on contamination and over-processing. How else can you cook 500kg of sauce in just 5 minutes?

Our experts will also be on hand to share best practice advice around stopping label and date code errors and retailer code of practice compliance with our IoT based software OAL Connected. Whilst you're on our stand, make sure you pick up our latest brochure discussing the five best practice steps for continuous improvement in food manufacturing and see how easily you can implement them into your factory.

So with lots to learn, see and discover, sign up today to join us at the Food & Drink Business Europe Smart Factory Summit 2017. We can't wait to meet and discuss how powerful new digital technologies can impact your food business and start you on your journey towards automation!