OAL News
Souper Green: Pioneering Robotics to Revolutionise Soup and Sauce Manufacturing in the UK
Olympus Automation Ltd. (OAL) is proud to announce the launch of its £2 million Souper Green project in partnership with Marks and Spencer PLC (M&S) and Solina. The project, supported by grant funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) programme, aims to transform the soup and sauce manufacturing industry by deploying an innovative APRIL™ Robotics Cooking Cell, which promises significant energy and carbon savings. The project's industrial demonstration will take place in Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Peterborough, United Kingdom - April 24, 2023 - Olympus Automation Ltd. (OAL) is proud to announce the launch of its £2 million Souper Green project in partnership with Solina and supported by Marks and Spencer PLC. The project, supported by grant funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) programme, aims to transform the soup and sauce manufacturing industry by deploying an innovative APRIL™ Robotics Cooking Cell, which promises significant energy and carbon savings. The project's industrial demonstration will take place in Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
The Souper Green project is part of the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) programme- Phase 4 project, funded under the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) and supported by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) IEEA through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. It seeks to fund industrial scale demonstrations of novel technologies that can reduce energy consumption, maximise resource efficiency, and cut carbon emissions. It is managed by the Carbon Trust with support from Jacobs and Innovate UK KTN.
APRIL™ Robotics Cooking Cell, a fully automated robotic food processing system, is designed to improve Clean in Place (CIP) processes and utilises OAL's Steam Infusion technology. By incorporating a lightweight cooking vessel, the system allows for more efficient heating operations and easier cleaning, leading to an impressive 80% energy savings from production trials. Additionally, the system's highly accurate robotic ingredient weighing system minimises ingredient waste.
The Souper Green project builds on OAL's 2015 "APRIL" program, which aimed to develop the world's first robotic-based food processing system. A pilot plant was successfully installed at the University of Lincoln's National Centre for Food Manufacturing (NCFM) at Holbeach. A development system (TRL7) is now operational at Go-Tan, a Dutch food manufacturer, producing 2.4 tonnes per hour (T/Hr) of chilli sauces.
The UK demonstrator will replicate the Go-Tan equipment with specific CIP enhancements, aiming to deliver a fully operational 2T/Hr production unit (TRL9).
Retailer M&S endorses the project as part of its Plan A commitment to support suppliers in reducing their carbon footprint and reaching net zero.
Solina, a food manufacturer and supplier to Marks and Spencer plc, plans to install OAL's robotic food processing system to significantly reduce energy consumption, enhance efficiency, and create a more sustainable production environment. For more information about the Souper Green project, please visit https://programmes.carbontrust.com/ieea.
In addition, OAL will be showcasing their automation systems at the Smart Manufacturing Showcase 2023 on Thursday 14 September at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing in Holbeach, United Kingdom. The event will provide an excellent opportunity for interested parties to learn more about OAL's innovations and the future of food manufacturing. For more information on the event registrations, follow us on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oalgroup
About the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA)
The IEEA is a four year programme funded through the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), a £1 billion fund announced in the UK Prime Minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, to accelerate the commercialisation of low carbon technologies, systems and business models in power, buildings, and industry. £8 million in funding have been made available to fund demonstration projects through Phases 3 and 4 to demonstrate 15 innovations.
More information on: carbontrust.com/ieea & https://www.carbontrust.com/news-and-insights/news/pioneering-energy-efficiency-tech-wins-government-grants
DESNZ IEEA: Proud Facilitators and Collaborators
OAL 3 Peaks Challenge 2023
We’re hiking the 3 Peaks in June to raise money and awareness for the charity StrongMen, a local mental health charity that has supported colleagues with challenges arising from bereavement.
We’re hiking the 3 Peaks to raise money and awareness for the charity StrongMen, a local mental health charity that has supported colleagues with challenges arising from bereavement.
In June, a team from OAL will be putting down the tools and stepping away from our keyboards to take on the 3 Peaks Challenge in under 24 hours!
The 3 peaks are made up of Ben Nevis (1,344m), Scafell Pike (978m) and Snowdon (1,085).
We‘re starting on Saturday 23rd June with Ben Nevis, hopping in the van down to hike Scafell Pike, and finishing in the early hours of Sunday morning at the top of Snowdon.
Will it be a software, mechanical, design or electrical engineer to reach the top of Snowdon first?
We’re raising awareness and money for StrongMen, a great local charity that has helped us overcome the mental health challenges of bereavement.
If you would like to donate, you can here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/oal-3peaks
SafeContractor accreditation 2022/23
We’re delighted to confirm that we’ve received SafeContractor accreditation for the seventhyear in a row, in recognition of our dedication to health and safety, for our own teams as well as how we work to protect our customers when on-site. When you work with OAL, you can be sure you’re in safe hands partnering with a responsible company.
We’re delighted to confirm that we’ve received SafeContractor accreditation for the seventh year in a row in recognition of our dedication to health and safety, for our own teams as well as how we work to protect our customers when on-site. When you work with OAL, you can be sure you’re in safe hands partnering with a responsible company.
Alcumus SafeContractor is a leading third-party health and safety assessment scheme initiated by the UK government under Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSiP), promoting a minimum standard of health and safety assessments, which helps customers to identify which companies meet the UK’s rigorous health and safety requirements. The accreditation is a sign of professional and credible contractor business, and all listed businesses can be found by registered customers via the client web portal. For any customers who are not clients, further information can be found on the SafeContractor website.
Throughout the rigorous accreditation process we provide examples of all our health and safety paperwork, demonstrating that the way we work meets legal industry requirements. This includes risk assessments, method statements, COSHH assessments and working at height, to name just a few!
A SafeContractor certificate is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to food manufacturing (our specialty) due to the number of contracted services. The SafeContractor seal of approval guarantees that we’re doing all we can to adhere to the very highest standard of health and safety and legal compliance, providing you with peace of mind when our teams carry out work on your sites.
SafeContractor confirms that we’re as dedicated to H&S as you are. Get in touch today for your upcoming projects!
Net Zero Food Manufacturing 2022 Round Up
On 16th June 2022, we explored the routes to net zero food manufacturing at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing (part of the University of Lincoln). A big thanks to our awesome customers, fascinating speakers and cutting-edge technology partners for making it a fascinating day!
On 16th June 2022, we explored the routes to net zero food manufacturing at the National Centre for Food Manufacturing (part of the University of Lincoln). A big thanks to our awesome customers, fascinating speakers and cutting-edge technology partners for making it a fascinating day!
The scene was set with insights and perspectives from academia, energy and finance:
Ling Sin Fai Lam, Shore Capital, highlighted the growing requirements for businesses to validate their “green” credentials.
Grant Barr, EON, explained the changing energy environment as the “spark gap” is reduced and the major benefits of consuming energy outside busy periods.
Wayne Martindale, University of Lincoln, reviewed the food industry's progress in decarbonising and shared the latest research projects in the field.
Bring on the robots!
With the scene set, we were joined by two pioneering food businesses using OAL robotic systems in the processing area to cut energy and improve production efficiency, quality and safety. Followed by a demonstration where we manufactured a net zero soup using the APRIL Batch cooking system.
Bing Go, Go Tan, explained how they have moved from traditional steam jacketed cooking vessels to a fully automated APRIL robotic cooking system.
Benoit Wissoq, Agrana shared their approach to automating powder handling with APRIL Powder Weighing. Watch the video below.
OAL demonstrated the APRIL batch cooking system by cooking and cooling a “net zero” batch of pea and mint soup. Saving the planet never tasted so good!
Alan Oakley, KUKA Robotics talked about how they support OAL with R&D and support customers locally through their extensive network.
Solving the energy problem
As the old maxim goes, what gets monitored, get’s managed. Our ability to collect, the right data, contextualise and drive action is fundamental to improving the energy efficiency of food businesses. Both end user case studies explained the need to put people at the heart of automation programmes.
James Judge, Berry Gardens focused on the need for “story telling” and “de-geeking” as part of the digitalisation of their new packhouse. Watch the video below.
Matthew Beacham, Wealmoor explained the skills and approach to automate their packaging lines and save energy by preventing human error. Watch the video below.
Inductive Automation and Ethan Stone, OAL shared how we use the Ignition SCADA/MES platform to present shopfloor data to end users easily. Watch the video below.
Thomas Flude, Cognex, demonstrated new vision and artificial intelligence technology can be quickly deployed to cut food waste.
Energy reduction funding
In our final session, Mark Swainson, University of Lincoln and Jenni McDonnell MBE, KTN, highlighted the current funding opportunities for energy and carbon reduction projects.
It truly was a varied day and we’re very grateful to all those attendees who came and participated so enthusiastically - we enjoyed every minute!
If you missed the event and want to hear more, get in touch and we can arrange a meeting with our experts.
OAL customer support ticket portal
We’re pleased to announce a new feature for our support customers, the ticket portal. The new feature offers visibility and communication history for all tickets raised by your organisation.
We’re pleased to announce a new feature for our support customers, the ticket portal. The new feature offers visibility and communication history for all tickets raised by your organisation.
Customer Ticket Portal
To access the customer portal, please contact OAL and we’ll enable the portal for your account.
You’ll be sent an email to register using your work email address.
Once registered, click here to login to the ticket portal.
The portal provides the following functionality:
User account and login to OAL Customer portal.
Visibility and communication history for all tickets within your organisation.
Ability to raise a ticket.