Robot sales up – but not for food firms
Last year may have been the best year ever for sales of industrial robots, according to the British Automation and Robot Association (BARA), but the food industry failed to play its part, with figures down 22 per cent since 2011.
“In 2011, sales of industrial robots from major suppliers reached a record 1,336,” says Mike Wilson, chairman of BARA. “But 2012 has far exceeded this figure with 2,476 units being sold. ”
The automotive sector generated most of those sales but, according to Wilson, there’s only a modest upward trend in the uptake of automation and robotics across other sectors.
When it comes to the food and drink industry, Grant Collier, head of marketing for BARA, says the consensus is that there’s a lot of interest in automation – but a fear, too, that major supermarkets still offer only short contracts, and also retain the ability to change packaging design at short notice.
“While the latter is not the problem it once was with the programmability of automation and robotic systems, these issues have become an increasingly reported barrier to investing in automation by this sector,” he says.
However, Collier, who is also responsible for the Automating Manufacturing Programme – a government initiative to persuade UK companies to automate and remain competitive – goes on to say that he has seen ‘a tremendous level of interest from all sectors for the use of automation’, with the funds from the programme almost completely allocated.
