Kinrise Snackfoods automates its manufacturing facility using AMRs

Konica Minolta Australia has announced that Australian food manufacturer Kinrise Snackfoods has deployed four autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) from Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) to automate operations across one of its manufacturing facilities. The manufacturer will also use Konica Minolta Australia’s AMR analytics software, sConnect, to provide it with greater insights to help drive operational efficiency across its operations.

Kinrise Snackfoods makes a variety of food products ranging from popcorn brands to baking mixes. The four AMRs will be used to automate the pallet handling process while simultaneously minimising manual intervention and increasing operational efficiency and safety. Using AMRs creates a seamless, end-to-end process as they are designed to autonomously transport full pallets from the palletising robot cells to the hood wrapper, and then manage the distribution of empty pallets from an auto de-stacker back into the palletising cells.

Apart from AMRs, the Konica Minolta solution includes MiRcharge, an autonomous charging station, and MiR Fleet, a fleet management software that manages job distribution, traffic management and auto charging among the AMRs.

Using sConnect, Kinrise Snackfoods’ team can access the AMRs’ data and performance metrics, including utilisation rates, charging performances, location heatmaps and a performance report for operational oversight.

The AMRs operate 24 hours a day, six days a week, handling hundreds of pallets daily and have covered tens of thousands of kilometres within the facility.

Kathy Gavrilidis, Head of Operations, Kinrise Snackfoods, said “The implementation of MiR robots at Kinrise Snackfoods’ facility has given us greater productivity, greater operational efficiency and improved our safety overall on our site. It has really been a valuable investment for Kinrise Snackfoods.”

Manglesh Jain, Robotics Business Manager, Konica Minolta Australia, said, “Konica Minolta Australia’s partnership with Kinrise Snackfoods demonstrates the value of automation in achieving manufacturing efficiency. The integration of AMRs with the existing systems, such as palletising robot cells and hood wrapper, gives Kinrise Snackfoods a comprehensive solution that streamlines its intralogistics operations while prioritising safety and operational efficiency.”

Gavrilidis added, “The solution’s intuitive interface and ease of use lets Kinrise Snackfoods manage these AMRs with existing staff. Working with Konica Minolta Australia for this project has transformed our manufacturing processes, streamlining operations while improving our working environment.”

Konica Minolta Australia is the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) distributor for Mobile Industrial Robots.

Image credit: iStock.com/Andrii Borodai