Industrial Manipulators and The Packaging Industry: Why They Work Well Together

In a recent post, we explained how industrial manipulators can help streamline the foundry industry – but that’s not the only where they can make a difference!

So many industries can see an increase in efficiency and safety with manipulators, including:

• Electromechanics
• Automotive
• Textile
• Food and many more!

But there’s one $900 billion industry in particular that Dalmec’s technology is perfectly suited to help – the packaging industry.

Let’s take a closer look at how industrial manipulators can improve productivity and save money in the packaging sector. 

Adaptable Solutions

The needs of the packaging industry are anything but one-size-fits-all.

Often, a company within in the packaging sector will be tasked with moving products of all different shapes and sizes, from drums and pallets to boxes and plastic rolls. This means that many packaging-focused warehouses require solutions that are adaptable, dependable and that can be used for several different products.

Industrial manipulators are the perfect answer, thanks to their inherent flexibility in handling products of different sizes and weights (Dalmec manipulators, for example, can move products up to up to 900kg). There are also several styles of machines to choose from, including pneumatic or mechanical gripping styles or column-mounted, overhead fixed or floor trolley mounted configurations.

Another reason why manipulators are so well suited to the packaging industry is because of the ample opportunity they allow for customization. For example, Dalmec’s manipulators can be created from scratch with your custom requirements to ensure your machine can perform any and all tasks you need.

Here’s a closer look at the wide range of jobs manipulators can be used for, such as moving heavy rolls of plastic:

It’s a helpful addition to this team member’s process! But other team members lifting or moving other packaging products may need a different solution, and once again, industrial manipulators are up to the task. Check out this machine that helps lift pallets more safely and efficiently:

Regardless of your warehouse set-up or requirements, there are versatile and reliable industrial manipulators available that can help adapt your lifting process.

Aiding Increased Production

The packaging industry is showing no signs of slowing down, especially when many companies are attempting to keep up with booming online retailers. Amazon, for example, had a revenue of $87.4 billion in Q4 of 2019 alone – a 20% increase from their Q4 revenue in 2018.

This widespread increase in production requires increased productivity to compete with the market’s demand. This requires taking a closer look at your warehouse’s efficiency to see what can be improved, including asking questions like:

• Is your warehouse experiencing backups or delays?
• How many of your team members are lifting products manually?
• Are your current workflows effective?
• Are your storage systems accessible enough for your team members?

As you’re answering these questions, you may realize that there are several opportunities to optimize your warehouse’s productivity by adding industrial manipulators into your process. Manipulators allow your employees to complete repetitive actions (such as heavy lifting) more quickly and efficiently, freeing up their time and energy for additional important tasks.

Increased Safety

Every warehouse has its potential hazards, and packaging warehouses are no exception.

While there’s always the opportunity for injuries to occur from larger accidents (ex. a large stack of merchandise is unstable and falls over) it’s important to be vigilant about the smaller, unnoticeable injuries that arise from something unavoidable in the industry – repetitive movements.

Repetitive movement injuries – defined as, “injuries caused by doing the same movement again and again which strains the body part” – harm both the employee and the employer. They force employees to either take time off work to seek treatment or decrease their productivity to not exacerbate their injury and then employers are faced with workers’ compensation claims, lost time and lost profits.

In a research study called “An Ergonomic Investigation of the Case-Packing Line at Company XYZ,” it was found that the most common repetitive motion injuries in the packaging industry center around wrist-related (e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis) and back-related injuries.

By employing industrial manipulators in your packaging warehouse, you’re decreasing the amount of strain that your employees are subject to every day and investing in their safety on the job. If your employees are experiencing work-related fatigue or discomfort due to the manual lifting that’s required of them, it’s time to find the industrial manipulator that’s right for your business.

Discover Your Warehouse’s Options

As this booming industry continues to grow, owners within the packaging sector should consider the benefits that industrial manipulators can provide for every aspect of their business, from their employees on the floor to their overall bottom line.

Dalmec’s customizable and adaptable industrial manipulators are the tools your packaging warehouse needs to keep your employees safe and amp up your productivity.

If you have any questions about an industrial manipulator for your business, contact us today to learn more.