FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Ed Buckley, Vice President Sales & Marketing
Smart Motion Robotics, Inc
124 Industrial Drive
Gilberts, IL 60136
847-836-7744
847-836-7742 FAX
Smart Motion Robotics, Inc. Announces SmartPacker™ the Egg Industry’s Leading Robotic Egg Case Packing Solution
Gilberts, Illinois, January 11, 2007 – A new robotic system called SmartPacker™ is now available for egg producers world-wide. The system delivers exceptional egg case packing performance in a small footprint. The patent pending system was designed specifically for the needs of the egg industry, so interfacing to industry standard Moba® and Diamond® systems is a snap. The modular design of SmartPacker™ balances robotics with custom automation. It comes fully assembled from the factory, wheels into place, and connects in less than 5 minutes. Most customers begin running production on the same day as installation.
The first SmartPacker™ installation was in the Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. Hi-Grade plant in Loda, IL. The system wheeled off the truck and into place in back of a Moba® grader. Why would Hi-Grade install such a system?
“Case packing is one of the last functional areas where automation can play a key role to create true cost savings for egg producers, large and small,” says Bob Krouse, CEO Midwest Poultry Services, L.P.
SmartPacker™ reduces packing labor costs up to 83% by automating the labor-intensive process at the back of the grader. Foam and pulp consumer cartons are carefully placed into shipping cases, significantly reducing the number of post-cartoning chex. The robots do not get tired, get sick or quit after being trained.
“For the first time, robotic automation is transforming the egg industry,” says Ed Buckley, Smart Motion Robotics’ VP Sales and Marketing. “There have been attempts to automate this process in the past, but our robotic system is successfully in production on multiple farms with amazing results. These are exciting times.”
“We will be debuting SmartPacker™ at the International Poultry Expo show in Atlanta, GA January 24-26, 2007. We installed our first system in June 2006, and have been systematically automating additional farms since then. We’re just now formally announcing the product because we wanted to make absolutely sure we had the product functionality and track record nailed before we released the product for general availability. Quality and reliability are extremely important,” Buckley said.
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The SmartPacker™ uses, as its core, a world-class FANUC robot complemented by application specific automation components. It provides a reliable, cost effective solution for a common industry problem – manual egg case packing. SmartPacker™ operates on two grader lanes at one time and its software features resilient operation in case of a lane failure, such as a carton lid pop-open. The system places center dividers into 24 and 30 dozen untaped cases. The system also packs consumer cartons into 15 dozen cases, and handles 30 ct. bulk trays as well. A single operator can tend multiple systems, feeding empty cases into several lanes. As a standard feature, statistics and real time monitoring can be accessed through the plant’s internal local area network (LAN) or directly on each SmartPacker™ system.
The company was recently featured on Heartbeat of America’s limited television series “Keeping America Strong” with special performances by William Shatner and retired US Navy Rear Admiral Kevin Delaney. The company was presented with the “Keeping America Strong” award on the show.
For additional information on SmartPacker™, or the company’s other robotic automation solutions, contact Ed Buckley at 847-836-7744, or visit www.SmartMotion.com/eggs. The company offers a free informational DVD on request. Moba® and Diamond® are registered trademarks of their respective owners.
ABOUT SMART MOTION ROBOTICS, INC. – Smart Motion Robotics is a leader in robotic automation for case packing and palletizing solutions focusing in the poultry and feed industries, Founded in 1996, the company is now one of FANUC Robotics’ fastest growing Systems Integrators.
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