Located in Kildare, Ireland, Newbridge is a high-volume bakery specialist. They produce a vast range of baked goods, including pies, which are distributed at a rate of 400 units per minute to major retail and wholesale clients.
Before partnering with Record Packaging, Newbridge relied on a heavily manual and space-consuming packing process:
Manual Prep: Two staff members spent entire night shifts erecting cardboard cases and inserting liners manually.
High Labour Costs: Six operators were required to manually count 400 pies into each box as they came off the line.
Space Inefficiency: Rows of pre-erected boxes took up significant floor space every morning, creating a cluttered and inefficient working environment.
Record Packaging implemented a state-of-the-art automated bag-in-box and cartoning system. This €800,000 investment was designed to handle the high-speed output of the bakery while reducing the physical footprint of the packing operation.
The automated system features:
Pattyn Case Erector: Automatically erects and lines cases on demand, eliminating the need for manual night-shift preparation.
Intelligent Routing: Guided decline conveyors from the freezer bring products into a single file.
Dual-Stream Packing: Retail-bound products are automatically fed into a semi-automatic cartoning machine, while bulk products are diverted to an automatic picking line.
Buffer Carousel: A “Lazy Susan” buffer system allows operators to manage surges, change tapes, or reload the case erector without stopping the line.
The automation of the Newbridge bakery line has delivered immediate operational and financial benefits:
66% Reduction in Labour: Staffing requirements for the packing line dropped from six operators down to just two.
Shift Elimination: The requirement for a dedicated night shift for box preparation was entirely removed.
Enhanced Floor Space: By erecting boxes on demand, the bakery saved vast amounts of floor space previously used for box storage.
Precision and Quality: The integrated counting and check-weighing systems ensure every case meets exact specifications, reducing product giveaway and customer complaints.
