Reducing time and stress in fish plant logistics
High efficiency in fish production
When hungry fast-food customers in 39 countries around the world order a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish, Fish McFeast Fisk, or Rye Fish McFeast, they’re digging into breaded fish from the Danish seafood producer A. Espersen. Ensuring success day in and day out demands high levels of efficiency across the company.
Reduce wasted time and stress in production
Transporting raw material to the production line
Transporting finished products to the stretch wrapper
Collecting and delivering empty pallets
Challenge
A. Espersen faced a recurring challenge where the production line ran out of empty pallets because it wasn't refilled in time.
Solution
But Global AGV has solved the issue. It picks up and delivers empty pallets to a PALOMAT pallet magazine, transports raw materials to the processing line, and finished products to the stretch wrapper
Gain
In return, A Espersen has freed up employees from monotonous, repetitive manual labour and optimised workflows and production flow. No one has lost their job due to the new autonomous truck.
Bottlenecks mean that employees end up standing around and waiting, which is costly and unsustainable. A. Espersen used to face recurring issues when the production line ran out of empty pallets because it was impossible to replenish these in time.
But now the production issues of the world’s leading producer of frozen fish products have been resolved thanks to a driverless forklift truck, also known as a Global AGV. As McDonald’s preferred fish supplier in over 39 countries, it is vitally important to be able to deliver high-quality products on time.
"Automation is the future and is how we can increase our efficiency and produce profitably in Denmark. No one has lost their job because of our new driverless forklift truck. Quite the opposite, in fact. We have liberated our employees from monotonous, repeated manual labour and optimised our manufacturing processes and production flows,"
says Stig Nielsen, Production Manager at A. Espersen.
No more work-related injuries
BILA, Denmark’s largest and oldest automation company, installed, fine-tuned and serviced the AGV in partnership with A. Espersen to ensure it streamlines with the other processes in the plant. Input from staff at the fish processing plant has also been invaluable, and employees will also be taken into consideration when the next AGV is brought in.
"I’ve involved my employees in the automation process right from the get-go since their word carries weight when new manufacturing processes are introduced. In the end, they’re the ones who will have to work alongside the Global AGV. When automating production processes, it’s important to take account of “real life” details. Otherwise, I don’t think it would have been a success,"
says Stig Nielsen.
Employees have named this first AGV ‘Ole’, and as a new ‘colleague’, Ole attends to routine duties for 16 hours a day at three different workstations in the plant. One of Ole’s duties is to collect and deliver empty pallets to a PALOMAT pallet magazine on the production line. Furthermore, the AGV transports raw produce to the production line and finished products to the stretch wrapper. Last but not least, the driverless forklift truck can drive around autonomously and stop to recharge whenever needed.
There is a shortage of qualified forklift truck drivers and service staff. This is why the AGV is the right option for combatting these increasing manpower shortages, which is another reason why A. Espersen decided to level up automation in its Danish plant. Stig Nielsen is enthusiastic about the possibility of having more AGVs in the future.
"There will always be more we can automate, and BILA is a strong and reliable partner for this. I’m one of those people who is ready to fully commit to something once I can see its purpose, and I can already say that I can see opportunities for optimisation with more Global AGVs in our production process."
Beyond its facilities in Denmark, the Danish fish production group has plants in four other locations around the globe so it can stay close to both suppliers and customers: the plants can be found in Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Vietnam. A. Espersen also has offices in the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Malaysia and China.
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