BILA-solution doubles yogurt production at Thise

Background

"We knew that we would automate at some point, but the increasing demand for skyr products has pushed us to do it now,"

Jens Møibæk, Technical Supervisor at Thise Dairy

With the solution, Thise has significantly optimised skyr production. The dairy can now produce 9,000 skyr cups per hour, doubling the number of products since the manual handling of production, where 11 employees kept production running around the clock - every day of the week. The production optimisation, therefore, meets Thise Dairy's goal of higher capacity and increased efficiency to meet the growing market demand, explains Jens Møibæk.

Solution for packing and palletising

The solution delivered to Thise includes two Kawasaki robots. The robots are installed to pack and palletise orders. According to Jens Møibæk, both processes were entirely manual before BILA's solution was installed.

The production itself now involves automatic filling of skyr into cups, which are sent via a slat conveyor to packing by a Kawasaki FS20N robot. On another slat conveyor, plastic trays or paper trays are transported to the robot, which, in one motion, packs two plastic trays with 6 skyr cups each. The robot can pack various types of skyr products with up to 500 ml in each cup.

After packing, the products are sent for palletising. The robot palletises two trays in a single motion, after which the pallets are manually transported to the warehouse.

With the solution, Jens Møibæk explains that Thise Dairy now has a reliable solution where manual handling of the cups is minimised. At the same time, the solution is flexible because, in addition to skyr, it can pack and palletise other products from Thise with the same lid diameter.

House supplier

Regarding the collaboration, Jens Møibæk from Thise Dairy states:

"We chose BILA A/S because they are local. They know us, and we know them. So we consider them as the house supplier,"

Jens Møibæk, Technical Supervisor

Thise Dairy has previously installed several automation solutions from BILA A/S, and Jens Møibæk mentions that it is important for Thise Dairy to have BILA's service department nearby in case they need support.