Flexibility is essential for depalletising and AMR fleet operation now at Butternut Box

Reeco designed and installed a system integrating seven of its depalletisers and 18 AMRs from Omron, able to transfer product at different heights in logistics for fresh dog food.

Specialist dog food company Butternut Box tasked Reeco with delivering a fully-customised depalletising and product transfer system to meet fulfilment needs, improving efficiency and significantly reducing the need for manual handling.

The brand-owner wanted to increase throughput and optimise end-of-line efficiencies to meet increasing demand and plan for future growth. Reeco designed a bespoke system that could handle goods movements taking place partially inside a freezer, as well as transfer products from conveyors at various heights.

At the start of the production line, seven Reeco RB2000 depalletisers unload crates of fresh dog food, which are then transported to fulfilment stations via a fleet of 18 Omron autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) with Dimalog custom top modules, allowing access to different line heights.

Head of engineering and capital projects at Butternut Box Marc Crossfield says Reeco has been a “brilliant partner”, working closely with the customer over the entire process, from design through to installation and maintenance. “They’ve delivered an excellent localised automation solution, which puts us in an excellent position for future growth in a modular fashion,” he says.

The AMR fleet is managed via a single interface and is integrated with an on-site Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to manage product demand and delivery. For orders heading to mainland Europe, a Reeco RB2000 palletiser with EasyStack software is used to transfer goods on to Euro pallets ready for shipping.

Reeco worked with Butternut Box to create an optimised layout and system design across critical stages in the fulfilment line. CAD drawings mapped out the AMR area, including calculating distances and heights in order to simulate and verify the desired movement of goods. This was followed by physical testing to create an optimal plan for reliable AMR traffic management.

The project has been a huge success, says Reeco, freeing up to three workers to add value elsewhere on the line. AMRs make light work of repetitive heavy lifting, palletising and depalletising 5,000 trays per 12- hour shift. The project is a perfect example, it adds, of cutting-edge AMR technology making a very real difference to operational efficiency.

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