A Majority Now Use End-of-Line Robotics, But Growth Is Expected to Plateau

Robotics advancements significantly improve end-of-line efficiency, but surveys show flat growth in coming years.

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Advances in machine vision and learning made robots even more valuable at the end of the line, according to PMMI Business Intelligence’s 2022 report “Robots and Cobots: An Automated Future.

These emerging technologies enable more efficient pallet stacking that does not require extensive reprogramming to change product type or configuration, for example. Cobots are also being deployed in transport packaging, especially as cobot payload capacities increase. These stronger cobots enable SMEs to more readily adopt robotics for applications at the end of the line.

Robotics Growth Predictions

Eo L GraphsPMMI Business Intelligence’s 2022 report “Robots and Cobots - An Automated Future.”

The result: a majority of CPGs now use robots at the end of line. The technology is especially useful for larger operations.

"We could not operate without our robots and cobots due to the numerous products and packaging patterns," according to a process and automation engineer at a leading beverage company quoted in the report.

However, participating CPGs in the PMMI survey predict that growth will flatten in the near future. Currently, 53% of surveyed CPGs use robots in end-of-line packaging, but those CPGs expect no change in that number in the next five years.

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