Intelligent automation with the Bosch Rexroth VarioFlow plus chain conveyor system and Hitmark Robotics solutions is delivering efficient palletising solutions for the food industry.

Vendor lock-in has become a significant barrier to growth, costing a typical mid-sized company some £8m per year in revenue through lost operational agility, optimisation and efficiency burdens, data siloes and decision-making gaps, and from sustainability and compliance retrofits. Schneider Electric argues that the way forward is through open, software-defined automation that is no longer tied to proprietary hardware.

In a fast-changing technology landscape, and with a frequent need to work with legacy assets, many digital transformation projects are getting stuck at the proof of concept stage. But what if turnkey solutions were available that could effortlessly transform shop floor data into enterprise intelligence, making it easy for businesses to realise and scale projects to see maximum value? We talked to the experts at Turck Banner.

If control was the language of the 20th century, coexistence will define the 21st. The next wave of industrial progress will be built on a more sustainable, human and resilient way of creating value - and Europe has the potential to lead this progress globally, as Fernando Colas, chief executive officer at OMRON Industrial Automation Europe, explains.

With the right specification, electric linear actuators are well suited to high-force, heavy-duty industrial operations, as well as hygienically sensitive applications such as food and beverage production, as Gerard Bush, engineer at motion specialist INMOCO, explains.

Using a plug-and-play approach, manufacturers can introduce modularity to their packaging automation and benefit from this flexibility. Here, Mark Richards, regional manager at Beckhoff UK, explores how modularity can help manufacturers streamline their packaging processes.

Titan Enterprises highlights six practical steps to minimise the engineering challenges associated with integrating sensor technology into existing systems.

To address bottlenecks in component specification, ABB launched GoSelect, an intuitive web-based solution designed to streamline the selection, sizing, and system-level configuration of motors, drives and PLCs, as ABB Global Digital Lead Katriina Raito explains.

Here, Neil March, product specialist for the MX-System at Beckhoff, explains why removing the control cabinet reshapes machine design.

The food and beverage industry has been slower to adopt automation than some other areas of manufacturing. Short-term supplier contracts and a reliance on cheap labour have proved obstacles to investment for some food producers, limiting their ability to grow their production capabilities. Fortunately, automation systems incorporating robotics from leading suppliers such as FANUC are now becoming a common sight in many food factories around the UK.