Global AGV help Danpo boost volume, quality and the work environment

Efficient automation at Danpo creates growth and healthier jobs with a fully automated packing plant, where self-driving forklift trucks from Global AGV are part of the solution. 

Danpo has been producing chickens for over 60 years, and every week they prepare 950 tonnes of chicken at their factory in Give, near Billund. The freshly-prepared products are delivered to the restaurant industry and retail distributors, who have precise requirements for both quality and price point for the goods they sell. As Factory Manager at Danpo, Rene Tryk focuses on opportunities for optimisation: 

‘The food industry in Denmark is a wage-heavy industry compared to other countries, so we automate everything that we can throughout our company. This ensures our competitiveness, but also quality and a good work environment.’ 

Automation ensures a 20% higher output

The implementation of driverless forklift trucks from Global AGV helps to create a sustainable production environment that can be felt on the bottom line. The AGV also helps to free up two out of three employees to work on other more complex tasks in the factory. 

Lean Process Manager, Søren Tuborg Bendtsen, focuses on flexible and optimal space utilisation, so that growth doesn’t break the framework. There is a constant race between available space at the chicken producer’s, and the growth curve in production. And if that race is to be won, it is important that logistics are in order, and according to Søren Tuborg Bendtsen, a driverless forklift truck from Global AGV makes perfect sense when solving logistical challenges. 

‘We prevent logistics problems by using a self-driving forklift truck, an AGV, which creates better access to the line and the facility. Fixed pallet slots and fixed roller conveyors would lock the driving paths, while the AGV creates a future-proof flow and prevents accumulations in the packing system. There is also really a lot of wasted time with people driving around in a forklift truck and putting something out in the cold store when a robot could be doing it just as well. What the AGV uses in terms of space is minimal compared to manoeuvring around, and the AGV drives itself to its base to recharge between tasks,’ says Søren Tuborg Bendtsen.

Now using brain power over muscle power

The new line is also a hit among Danpo employees, with a driverless forklift truck from Global AGV helping to make employees’ work easier and improving the work environment while not compromising on safety, as department head, Morten Kold, explains:

"Daily life works really well with an AGV, as it makes a lot of our work much easier. Sitting behind the wheel of a forklift truck all day long is just not healthy. Us humans are built to use our brains for something more interesting, like quality control tasks. We call it Robert."

Furthermore, statistics from the manufacturing industry show that manual forklift trucks generally carry an increased risk of human error and accidents due to blind spots and inattention, compared to self-driving trucks. But they don’t have to worry about that at Danpo with a driverless forklift truck from Global AGV, who also make sure to keep the AGV up to date. 

‘Some of the colleagues have a little fun “playing with the AGV” and challenging the technology in terms of safety to see what happens. But it works as it should every time,’ says Morten Kold. 

Driverless forklift trucks from Global AGV

Global AGV is the market’s simplest Stand-Alone logistics solution, which is easy to install and can be operated by anyone. It takes on average only a couple of days for a Global AGV to be installed and put into operation, thanks to the intuitive user management. With its flexibility, it can be modulated and adapted to your customers’ requirements, which makes it easy to integrate into existing production environments. Global AGV solves your customers’ routine tasks while also eliminating bottlenecks and production stops, freeing up valuable resources for quality assurance of production.

With Global AGV, Danpo has achieved:

• 20% higher output
• Creates flow and prevents congestion in the packing plant
• Frees up 2 out of 3 employees for other tasks
• Improved and safer work environment.