27.11.2023

Crafting the Future: Himmerlandskød Continues to Have Automation at Heart

Back in 2022, when Himmerlandskød was building a brand-new plant, Klaus Vestergaard, Facility Director at the site, recognized that in the world of modern food manufacturing, innovation and automation have become paramount to staying competitive.

Streamlining the End-of-Line Process

Future-Proofed by the CUBE

Back in 2022, when Himmerlandskød was building a brand-new plant, Klaus Vestergaard, Facility Director at the site, recognized that in the world of modern food manufacturing, innovation and automation have become paramount to staying competitive. Therefore, alongside with the palletizer, he decided to have the CUBE installed to future-proof, cut costs, and optimize throughput and efficiency of their end-of-line process.

Reflecting on the journey since the installation of the CUBE, Klaus expresses his satisfaction with the project’s progression: “It has gone according to plan, and I’m very satisfied”.

Reliability Is Key

In terms of technical performance, Klaus affirms the CUBE’s worth. Contrary to typical teething troubles with new technology, the CUBE has showcased remarkable reliability by having packed more than 3.4 million packages of meat into cardboard boxes on just one production line with only minor adjustments necessary: “Considering that it’s the first time we have installed the CUBE, we have of course experienced minor errors. All considered, I would say that it has been an excellent experience.”

To this, Klaus adds: “As I’ve said to all my suppliers: If you sell me crap, I’ll tell you. But the CUBE from QUPAQ has been good. I would actually say that it’s the machine that has posed the least challenges of them all. Also, QUPAQ’s technicians have been good at showing us how to deal with these problems if they should arise.”

Who is Himmerlandskød?

Himmerlandskød, located in the northern part of Denmark with two plants in Farsø and Aalestrup, is the second largest slaughter/cutting facility of livestock in Denmark with 212 employees and a yearly slaughter of 122.000 livestock.

QUPAQ delivered:

INTRAY Overpusher 90° electric
CUBE Pick’n’Place Cell
Case closer
Palletizer
Conveyors in between all the above-mentioned machines
Sheet dispenser for the palletizer
Pallet dispenser

A video displaying the End-of-Line solution at Himmerlandskød.

A Simple Solution

One of the most significant aspects of the CUBE’s success at Himmerlandskød has been its user-friendliness. The system’s simplicity has helped mitigate operational difficulties, and Klaus underlines the importance of easy-to-use interfaces, especially in the context of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. “It has to be simple; it has to be as simple as possible,” he emphasized. And simple is exactly what the interface of the CUBE is, as there is no need for external programmers. Operators are now enabled to adjust all parameters themselves when they want to change products or programs which furthermore contributes to great flexibility on the production site.

A Collab Based on Trust and Success

The journey toward adopting the CUBE was rooted in a strong foundation of trust, and it was the history of previous successful collaborations that laid the groundwork for Klaus to choose QUPAQ once again: “At QUPAQ, they had the solution, they know what we’re dealing with, and they have the technicians that we need. That’s why we chose them,” Klaus explained.

Moreover, Klaus states that the decision to embrace automation, in the form of the CUBE, was driven by the evolving industry landscape and the promise of efficiency gains. He emphasizes the need to align with the direction of the market and highlights the benefits of automation in the EOL process: “By getting all this automation, we’ve also got one more blacksmith,” he mentioned, illustrating how automation’s benefits extend beyond cost savings to capacity expansion.

Higher Demands Means More Automation

Shifting subject to what the future brings for Himmerlandskød, Klaus shares his aspirations for further automation expansion. He hints at the possibility of additional production lines integrated with the CUBE. He believes that the scalability and adaptability of the technology, including the potential for adding one more CUBE, provides Himmerlandskød with the agility to meet future demands.

Additionally, Klaus highlights the inescapable nature of automation in the industry today. He views the integration of robots like the CUBE as an essential tool to remain competitive and sustain growth: “To do this, we need this robot. There’s nothing to discuss, otherwise we can’t be part of the game,” he states firmly.