Robots the big cheese at Ilchester

London - Ilchester Cheese Ltd, the UK’s biggest producer of speciality cheeses, reports continuing improvements in terms of labour and materials efficiency, product consistency and productivity, some two years after adding ABB robotic cells to its production line at its factory in Ilchester, Somerset.

In 2005, Ilchester Cheese asked RTS, a supplier of engineering services, products and integrated systems, to supply a new automated production line to help improve labour efficiency and increase product yield. With its partner ABB, RTS recommended two IRB 340 Flexpicker robots, capable of handling 150 picks per minute, ensuring cheese blocks are moved quickly and precisely.

Operating in two, eight-hour shifts, the Flexpicker robots have since reduced labour turnover by half; only two employees are needed to monitor and maintain the smooth running of the production lines, reduced from the four employees who previously carried out the task of picking and packing.

The robots are designed to ensure Illchester’s product consistency by selecting only perfect products. As the robot scans the production line it identifies the optimum height of a block of cheese. Any cheese product that does not fit into the pre-determined height restrictions, is left on the conveyor, ready to be cut and sent through the production line again.

According to Tony Helyar, engineering & business development manager: "Production errors have been greatly reduced, resulting in reduced wastage and increased yield on our products. The solution has been successfully in operation for over two years and has already enabled Ilchester Cheese to recoup its initial investment ... we look forward to implementing robotics elsewhere in our business"