Most efficient and sustainable production with Tetra Pak® PlantMaster
A fresh milk and juice producer built a state-of-the-art new production site that is now the most efficient and sustainable dairy in northern Europe.
Case in short
Customer
A dairy in northern Europe.
Objective
- Expand existing production for filling and packaging fresh milk and juice products
- Become the most efficient and sustainable dairy in northern Europe
Result
- Fully-automated, flexible and future-proof production
“Thanks to Tetra Pak and its partners, we have now reached a fantastic level of plant automation. Furthermore, we have an innovative, flexible and – crucially – future-proof solution that is helping us achieve our goal of building the most sustainable and efficient dairy in northern Europe.”
Dairy Manager of the new plant
Challenge – expand and update existing production
The customer faced declining demand for its core product, white milk, and growing competition from dynamic, fast-moving competitors. They also needed to replace and improve an ageing infrastructure, some of which was no longer fit for use. They needed help to solve the pressure on space and production at their existing site which was spread throughout a number of old buildings, resulting in inefficient workflow. The customer turned to us for help to expand and update their existing production for filling and packaging fresh milk and juice products in gable top packages – and to leverage the latest technology to become most efficient and sustainable dairy in northern Europe. They wanted a fully automated new plant with full traceability and all quality reports accessible in one tool. They also needed help in integrating equipment from several different suppliers – even equipment not prepared for line integration or digitalisation.
Solution – a fully-automated, flexible and future-proof production
We customised a Tetra Pak PlantMaster solution with MES solution based on Production Integrator platform for the packaging area, with full integration of third party Distribution Equipment. The solution was comprised of three Tetra Pak® TR/27 filling machines and three Tetra Pak® Accumulator Helix 30, as well as the plant’s automation and fault logging system, a customized version of Tetra Pak PlantMaster. The solution included Tetra Pak® Line Gateway (LiGa) for Tetra Pak® TR/27 machines and a third party Bag in Box filler, as well as a KPI visualization tool for third party equipment related to the packaging area. We also brokered and managed relationships with Elettric80, which provided six customized laser-guided vehicles (LGVs), and with AMC roll container solutions, which provided equipment for blue tray handling and container fillers.
Result – the most efficient and sustainable dairy in northern Europe
Straight after the plant began operation the new equipment delivered significant efficiency benefits - including total line integration. With four filling lines, three of them using Tetra Pak equipment, the plant now produces around 36 million litres of dairy products and 5.7 million litres of juice each year. With Tetra Pak PlantMaster, the plant is fully automated and the risk of production stops due to human error has been reduced to almost nil. The system offers continuous feedback on performance, quickly highlighting any issues and enabling fast resolution. There is full traceability and tracking on every order, while filling lines are operating at efficiency levels higher than the target of 96%, and delivering greater accuracy, with very low levels of product loss and waste. The system is future-proof, with the capacity to scale up or down as needed. In addition, the six LGVs give considerably more flexibility than the system in the old plant. The 18,000 square metre facility is arguably the most efficient and sustainable dairy in northern Europe.