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Data-Driven Automated Packaging Helps Cleca Increase 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

Improving throughput by using real-time production data to optimize existing equipment

Cleca, known for its dessert mixes and savory food products, needed to increase output on its ready-made broth line. Demand had grown beyond the capacity of the existing system, which included six substations and automation components from multiple suppliers. The line’s complexity created inefficiencies and bottlenecks, especially around the filling stage. Rather than investing in a full machinery replacement, Cleca looked for a way to improve performance using the equipment already in place.

OMRON’s i-BELT IoT data analysis service was used to identify where performance was being limited within Cleca’s automated packaging process. OMRON TM12 Series collaborative robots were already supporting product packaging, while additional smart sensors and real-time data protocols helped map the full production line, including pasteurization, filling, capping, X-ray checks, packaging, and palletization.

This data-driven analysis identified the filling station as the main throughput constraint. With that insight, Cleca was able to make targeted adjustments without replacing major equipment. The result was a more transparent and better-balanced automated packaging process, with improved visibility across each stage of production.

After implementation, productivity increased by 8%, enabling Cleca to deliver more than 800,000 cartons of broth per month. The line now processes roughly two cartons per second, helping the company meet growing market demand while making better use of its existing automation infrastructure.

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
More than 800,000 cartons of broth delivered monthly
Filling station bottleneck identified through real-time data analysis
Existing equipment optimized without major machinery replacement
Improved transparency and control across production stages

Practical automation for food packaging operations

Cleca’s use of OMRON i-BELT and collaborative robotics shows how automated packaging can be improved through better production data, targeted optimization, and a clear understanding of line performance.

If your team is exploring ways to improve packaging throughput, identify bottlenecks, or get more value from existing equipment, we can help assess an approach that fits your production environment.