Robots help lupin processor meet rising demand

Lupin Foods Australia, which makes and exports a range of foods based on Australian sweet lupin, has installed a robotic solution to help it boost output.

The West Australian manufacturer, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of global farmer cooperative CBH Group, has been carving out its niche in the health food market since 2006, and now exports lupin products like Lupin Tempe, Lupin Dahl, Lupin Falafel and Lupin Carrot Cake throughout the world.

The company is in particular experiencing growth in South East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Western Europe, and it looked to a robotic solution to streamline its packing processes to help meet the demand.

Lupin Foods wanted a system that could simultaneously lower palletising costs and keep up with rising output levels. It needed a high-speed, efficient system with the capacity to adapt as the business grew.

The company chose Robotic Solutions WA, an ABB authorised value provider and robotic automation specialist to provide the solution, which is based on an ABB IRB 460 high speed robotic palletiser.

Lupin Foods Australia general manager, David Fienberg, said that Robotic Solutions WA developed a solution that allows the company to produce 900 x 20 kilogram bags per hour, and stack them in such a way as to minimise its freight costs.

“The system has allowed us to remove wooden pallets from our process entirely, and therefore take advantage of the full capacity of our shipping containers. It also eliminates damage to our bags,” he says.

See Lupin Foods Australia's robotic palletiser in action here: