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Data-Driven Automated Packaging Boosts Cleca’s Broth Line Output by 8%

Case Study

10/16/2023

Automated packaging line processing cartons efficiently

Industry

Food & Commodities

Application

Packaging & Palletizing

Robot Solution

OMRON TM12 Cobots

Transforming legacy machinery into a high-throughput, IoT-optimized automated packaging system

Cleca, renowned for its sweets mixes and savory products, faced a critical challenge: demand for ready-made broth had outpaced the capabilities of its existing line. With six substations and a blend of automation components from various suppliers, the line’s complexity led to inefficiencies and bottlenecks, particularly at the filling stage. The prospect of a costly machinery overhaul loomed, but Cleca sought a smarter solution.

OMRON’s i-BELT IoT data analysis service was deployed to unlock hidden performance within Cleca’s automated packaging infrastructure, where OMRON TM12 Series collaborative robots are already responsible for packaging the items. By installing smart sensors and leveraging real-time data protocols, the i-BELT team mapped the entire line—pasteurization, filling, capping, X-ray checks, packaging, and palletization—pinpointing the exact station throttling throughput. Targeted, data-driven adjustments were made without replacing equipment, transforming the system into a truly interconnected automated packaging network.

The results were immediate and measurable: productivity surged by 8%, enabling Cleca to deliver over 800,000 cartons of broth monthly. The Mantuan brand now removes roughly two cartons from its line every second, meeting market demand with precision and agility.

Watch Cleca’s story:

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“By using this approach, we‘ve managed to make our line incredibly granular, dividing it into separate blocks to analyze them individually and correlate them with subsequent blocks. We could almost say the dynamics of a line like ours aren‘t too dissimilar to those that govern a queue of traffic: When traffic stops and starts unexpectedly rather than flowing steadily, congestion occurs, which cascades down and slows the process downstream.” — Michele Franceschini, Chief Information Officer and Bakery General Manager at Cleca

Results at a glance:

8% increase in productivity
Over 800,000 cartons delivered monthly
Bottleneck at the filling station resolved through real-time data analysis
No new machinery required—existing automation optimized
Enhanced transparency and control across all production stages

Tailored automation for food manufacturing

OMRON’s expertise in automated packaging empowers producers to overcome legacy bottlenecks and unlock new levels of operational excellence. If you’re exploring ways to optimize your line or have questions about robotics integration, we’re always interested in hearing about your unique challenges and ideas. Let’s start a conversation.