In Australia and New Zealand, a thriving meals and beverage trade has been among the many first to show to collaborative automation. It’s a development that can assist maintain the sector by labor shortages.
Australia and New Zealand each have lengthy and proud histories as agricultural exporters. Australia alone produces sufficient to feed 80 million individuals, although the nation has a inhabitants of simply 26 million.
Meals and drinks from Australia are exported the world over, notably to the US and Asia, with China as a significant end-customer. From seafood and meat to grains, dairy and wine, Australia and New Zealand’s agriculture, meals and beverage industries make a significant contribution to employment and their economies ($71 billion in Australia). Over 243,000 persons are employed within the meals and beverage manufacturing sectors in Australia.
In latest years Australia’s meals sector has been smashing information for manufacturing, exports and farm earnings. Nevertheless, food manufacturing is nonetheless labor-intensive and a thriving trade is closely depending on having the workforce to organize and bundle food and drinks for home use and export.
Regardless of file manufacturing within the meals sector, Australia is going through the tightest labor market in lots of many years. Immigration has slowed down because the begin of the COVID-19 pandemic and companies are in search of methods to do extra with fewer individuals.iv It has been estimated that by 2030, 1 in 3 new jobs created within the agriculture trade shall be expertise associated.
Automation serving to the meals and beverage sector
As in different international locations, automation has an essential position to play in supporting companies of all sizes. The World Robotics 2022 report signifies that 26% of commercial robotic installations in 2021 in Australia and New Zealand had been within the meals trade.
Within the midst of labor shortages, collaborative robots are nicely positioned to help Australia and New Zealand’s meals and beverage sector to bundle and palletize its output. In the previous couple of years, industrial robots have been steadily gaining reputation amongst manufacturers on this area, particularly with dealing with and meeting duties. With the elevated payload of the UR20, palletizing merchandise in bulk, particularly drinks, will turn out to be more and more accessible.
There’s a lot untapped potential right here as each international locations are approach beneath the worldwide common ratio of commercial robots to manufacturing workers.
