Haigh's Chocolates is the first company in Australia to invest in Baxter, an uncaged collaborative robot that promises to boost efficiency on the production line.
It is the first industrial implementation of a Baxter robot in Australia. Robots are traditionally caged in manufacturing facilities, and their high price tag means they are largely the domain of large manufacturers.
In contrast, Baxter has a relatively low price point of less than $100,000 and works alongside people uncaged to complete repetitive production tasks that are typically difficult or expensive to automate.
Haigh’s uses artisan production methods to create more than 250 products at its Adelaide manufacturing facility, which are sold via 15 Haigh’s Chocolates retail stores and online.
The company's CEO, Alister Haigh said: “Haigh’s Chocolates is a proud South Australian manufacturer. We place great emphasis on service and the finest traditional chocolate making. Our vision is that the Baxter robot will enable us to grow our business and maintain our traditions as we increase employment and move employees to higher skilled activities.”
The Baxter Manufacturing Robot Baxter Robot was created by Adelaide-born Rodney Brooks in 2012, and Pullman Learning Group is the regional distributor and Sage Automation is the authorised integrator in Australia.
Baxter is intelligent and intuitive, and it can be easily taught how to carry out a required task, which is stored in it’s memory to perform again in the future.
Baxter is also mobile and can be retrained and deployed as required throughout a manufacturing facility. This frees up human operators to focus on more value-added jobs, according to Sage Automation.
According to Sage Automation, Baxter has fast become part of the fabric of the manufacturing industry in the US.
“It is putting automation into the reach of all manufacturers, enabling them to achieve new efficiencies and remain comptitive,” Sage Automation CEO Adrian Fahey says.
“Baxter’s low-cost and high return provides a compelling alternative to offshoring by enabling manufacturers to ramp up production more cost effectively, protect intellectual property and create a more productive, satisfied workforce.”
The project at Haigh’s is being supported by the Department of State Development’s Business Transformation Voucher Program, an initiative of the State Government’s Manufacturing Works strategy.
