The Engine Room with Formic Formic

This episode is a copy of our popular webinar that provides a step-by-step overview and guide for automating food production operations. Enjoy!

00:00 – 02:17 Introductions
02:17 – 03:22 Danijel’s experience in food handling
03:22 – 04:01 Maximizing success with an automation roadmap
04:01 – 04:53 Challenges and goals in food production
04:53 – 06:39 The added complexity of food safety, hygienic design, and food quality
06:39 – 07:34 Exploring the broad spectrum of automation
07:34 – 09:19 Automation needs depending on stage of your business
09:19 – 10:26 A typical production flow: Front-of-Line vs End-of-Line
10:26 – 11:38 Front-of-Line: Infeed & Pre-Treatment
11:38 – 12:12 Front-of-Line: Processing
12:12 – 14:19 Front-of-Line: Primary Packing
14:19 – 15:45 Flexible vs Rigid Packaging
15:45 – 17:54 Depalletizing
17:54 – 21:43 Front-of-Line: Primary Packing of Flexible Packaging
21:43 – 22:21 Front-of-Line: Primary Packing of Rigid Packaging
22:21 – 23:15 Quality Inspection
23:15 – 25:49 End-of-Line: Tasks and terminology
25:49 – 26:51 End-of-Line: Case erecting and box/tray forming
26:51 – 28:26 End-of-Line: Case packing of flexible packaged goods
28:26 – 29:08 End-of-Line: Case packing of rigid packaged goods
29:08 – 32:13 End-of-Line: Case sealing and labeling
32:13 – 35:41 End-of-Line: Palletizing
35:41 – 36:10 End-of-Line: Pallet securement
36:10 – 37:00 Receiving, Transport, Storage, and Retrieval
37:00 – 37:39 Building your roadmap: What are your top goals?
37:39 – 39:21 Building your roadmap: Find high ROI and low TCO
39:21 – 43:02 Building your roadmap: Lessons learned
43:02 – 45:03 Building your roadmap: Guidance
45:03 – 46:48 Building your roadmap: Order to applications (crawl, walk, run, sprint)
46:48 – 47:49 Building your roadmap: Purchasing vs RaaS
47:49 – 48:41 Building your roadmap: Resources to Get Started
48:41 – 60:00 Q&A

Learn more: https://formic.co/

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David Gray shares his wealth of knowledge from his experience in Private Equity and Contract Packaging / Manufacturing with Greenseed and FedUp Foods. He is currently the CEO of FedUp Foods, a private label manufacturer for beverages, with specialization in prebiotic products such as Kombucha.
This episode is packed with insightful discussion:
00:00 – 01:13 Introductions
01:14 – 02:05 FedUp Foods
02:06 – 03:38 David Gray’s journey from Private Equity to Food & Bev
03:39 – 06:38 Where should Food & Bev companies start when they’re thinking about automating for the first time
06:39 – 11:02 Barriers to automation
11:03 – 16:24 Investments during tough times
16:25 – 18:36 “Dupes” in the market (finding lower cost alternatives)
18:37 – 20:24 What most Americans don’t know about the Food & Beverage industry
20:25 – 25:31 The growth of private labels
25:32 – 28:20 Finding brands with aligned values
28:21 – 31:03 What does automation do for a Contract Manufacturer’s attractiveness from CPG clients?
31:04 – 34:43 How has the labor market changed over the last 3-5 years?
34:44 – 39:50 Product packaging and the top moving targets in Food & Beverage
39:51 – 42:02 International packaging trends
42:03 – 46:00 Tyson Foods’ labor oversight, temp labor agencies, and workforce development
46:01 – 49:36 Automation enables better work and career opportunities in Food & Bev organizations
49:37 – 53:38 Advice for F&B manufacturers that are considering robotic automation

Prior to joining Formic, Danijel Lolic was the VP of Operations at Rice Fruit Company, a family-owned packaging business for fresh produce. He now leads our Customer Success department, working with all Formic's clients to ensure their successful automated production. Check out the chapters below!

00:00 Introductions
01:35 Starting a career in operations
04:55 The top operational challenges for fresh produce businesses
08:40 Main drivers for automating fresh produce production
10:40 The story around Rice Fruit’s first robotic system (palletizer)
13:20 Danijel and Rice Fruit’s automation learning curve
17:17 Automation lessons learned for family-owned businesses
26:07 The value of Operations experience as Head of Customer Success
27:45 Customer success is about ensuring a great experience, holistically
29:40 Feedback from Formic’s customers: Formic enables low-risk automation
41:06 The joy of learning how things are made in America
42:10 Overcoming adversity is a big part of Customer Success
46:09 Different expectations and experience of capital ownership vs robots-as-a-service
50:50 Formic’s continuous experience vs a “change of hands” purchase
53:45 How to get in touch with Danijel (dlolic@formic.co)

Learn more: https://formic.co/

Jason Long from Wittmann Group joins Formic's Automation Product Manager Kyle Kidwell and Co-Founder Misa Ilkhechi in this deep dive into the plastics manufacturing world.

Check out the topics below:

00:00 Introductions
02:15 State of the plastics and injection molding industry
03:30 How has the industry changed since the pandemic in 2020?
04:38 Growth drivers in injection molding
05:43 Sustainability: Recycled material versus virgin material
06:59 The key factors for automating injection molding processes
08:39 Standards for automating injection molding processes
11:15 Why American automation lags other global regions
13:31 How to justify investments in new machines or automation equipment
16:32 How to automate if your requirements change in the future
18:33 Adaptable technologies for injection molding
20:27 Custom tooling for injection molding
21:49 Who has control over the automation: the manufacturer or the integrator?
23:23 How to successfully scope a new robotic automation project
25:59 How to find the right automation integrator partner
29:03 Automation maintenance: who is responsible for what
34:23 Upskilling and training production staff on automation
37:15 Volume and longevity of machine deployments across the U.S.
40:29 The pros and cons of investing in new injection molding machines
42:39 Robot attachment rate to injection molding machines
43:49 Machine factors that might prevent automated machine tending
45:23 The diversity of plastics applications
48:00 Bringing new talent into manufacturing and automation
50:57 The overlooked industry of manufacturing and how things are made
53:45 Unlocking the next wave of U.S. manufacturing with automation
54:30 How to get in touch with Jason and Wittmann Group

Learn more: https://formic.co/

Welding Product Managers from Universal Robots and Formic dive into the biggest welding and robotic welding trends. Check out the chapters below!

00:00 Speaker introductions
02:18 Trends in the welding industry
03:27 The 336k welding labor gap (American Welders Society)
06:48 Higher mix and SKU count in manufacturing
07:55 Collaborative robot (Cobot) welding vs Traditional robot welding
10:40 The strengths of traditional automation
11:40 The strengths of collaborative automation
13:05 How to reprogram cobot welding cells without any experience
15:12 Welders see robotics as a powerful tool
16:40 The business results of using robotic welding systems
18:15 Eliminating repetitive work while increasing quality
19:30 Predictable “arc on” time and production output
21:01 Recruiting and retention benefits from robots
22:35 Force multiplying your team, 1 person can manage 3 robot welders
24:11 Welding and the Robotics-as-a-Service approach to automation
26:04 Robotics-as-a-Service is like a hiring firm to alleviate the labor shortage
27:44 In metal fab, welding equipment rarely gets the capital budget
31:34 Exciting, forward-looking robotic welding trends to watch out for
37:28 How to reach Will Healy (email: wihe@universal-robots.com)
38:00 Getting started with Universal Robots solutions (www.universal-robots.com/applications/welding)
38:50 Getting started with Formic Robotics-as-a-Service (www.formic.co/contact/get-your-free-consultation)
39:00 How to reach Ian Patrick (ipatrick@formic.co)

Learn more: https://formic.co/

Check out the debut episode of Formic's new series "The Engine Room" as Formic Co-founder, Misa Ilkhechi chats with industry veteran Wesley Garrett, Account Manager within FANUC America Corporation’s Pick/Pack/Palletize/Fulfillment department about palletizing - including its advantages, safety considerations, ROI and cost benefits, and tips on selecting the right solutions for your business.

Learn more: https://formic.co/