Grant Gerke

Grant Gerke is a digital manufacturing contributing writer in the food, beverage and packaging industries, with more than 15 years of experience writing about system software, ingredient trends, packaging material and equipment developments, automation technology and workforce trends. Other work includes coverage of electrification in multiple industries.

Robot and Cobot Technology Transform Food Operations

Large- and medium-sized food companies are struggling to find workers and this trend is not going away. So food manufactures are turning to robot/cobot applications to solve new and old problems on the plant floor, while increasing productivity in the post-covid workforce.

Grant Gerke

April 17, 2023

Small- and mid-size food businesses/manufacturers (SMBs) are in dire need of automated solutions for end-of-line packaging, primary packaging or processing. “Graybeards” have a considerable presence in manufacturing, and “10,000 boomers reach retirement age every day and represent 27% of the U.S. manufacturing workforce,” according to 2022 Bureau of Labor, Delottie and PEW Research. Plus, companies are experiencing a skills gap with the existing workforce, while also having challenges attracting younger workers to manufacturing jobs.