“The GTS specialist was not afraid to get his hands dirty,” says Lene Andreasen, COO at the company Procudan. That’s why concrete and practical robot solutions have emerged from a collaboration on innovation with the Danish Technological Institute.
By Dorthe Sjøbeck Christiansen, GTS Association
Procudan specializes in ingredients and packaging for food products. In 2020, the company was made aware of the opportunities for financial support for an innovation project through ”GenstartNU” (RestartNOW). This matched well with the challenges Procudan faced regarding some manual processes and therefore wanted to explore opportunities for automation. The goal was process optimization and improving the working environment. Procudan got in touch with a specialist from the Danish Technological Institute.
”The specialist from the Danish Technological Institute was out in the production hall assessing the processes all the way through to uncover challenges and look at possible automation solutions. After that, he went home and described the processes and his observations regarding our challenges. And his assessment was spot on,“ says Lene Andreasen, COO at Procudan.
The task for the GTS specialist included, among other things, providing good answers on how a robot could be used to lift, pack in cardboard boxes, and place cardboard boxes on pallets. It’s not straightforward, as it involves a challenging environment for a robot to work in. The plates that need to be lifted are very slippery and weigh 5 kg. Therefore, it is difficult for a robot to handle the plates. Fortunately, it’s not impossible because Procudan was presented with a series of solution options.
”We received many good inputs for automating the processes, some of which are already underway,” says Lene Andreasen.
Impartial and concrete approach
Lene Andreasen has been very satisfied with the impartiality and concrete approach to solving challenges that the GTS specialist from the Danish Technological Institute has brought. The possibilities were looked at objectively, combined with the vast experience the GTS specialist brought from other projects.
”The specialist is not committed to anyone, so it’s not about selling a specific solution. This gives him a very high credibility,” says Lene Andreasen and continues: ”Another advantage is that we can think further together because he is good at putting himself in our shoes—even in areas where he is not the specialist, he still contributes with his experience.”
“Not afraid to get his hands dirty”
The collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute has definitely sped up the process, Lene Andreasen asserts. She could perhaps have spent a lot of time exploring options with various robot solution providers ”but then I would have spent much more time, and we would end up with a worse result. This is because the specialist from the Danish Technological Institute has a back catalogue of research and practical experience that he can bring to the table,” says Lene Andreasen and continues:
”We have been met at eye level. It’s not about a highbrow researcher with a theoretical approach—on the contrary, the GTS specialist was not afraid to get his hands dirty,” says Lene Andreasen.
Embrace the offers for R&D collaboration
Lene Andreasen says that it has been a great advantage to be part of ”GenstartNU”. The project made Procudan aware of the Robot Center’s approach to automation, where ”the robot solution must be tailored to our needs and not us fitting into a standard solution.” Thus, Lene Andreasen knows whom to contact in the future if the company needs help with another automation project.
Procudan also collaborates with the Danish Technological Institute in the project “Eurostars”.
”It’s not something we have done much before, but once you gain the initial experience of participating in development projects, it spreads like ripples in the water,” says Lene Andreasen, who therefore recommends other companies to embrace the offers for innovation available.
”I know it can be hard to find the time. At the same time, some may be afraid to get involved because they think it always involves very advanced technological solutions. But it doesn’t have to. Of course, working with innovation requires time – especially when there needs to be follow-up, and solutions must be implemented. But in the end, it can be worthwhile to develop your business. My advice to others is to accept relevant offers and thereby gain access to new knowledge and technology.”
Photo: Lene Andreasen, COO, Procudan