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Industrial palletizing made easy

Rev-A-Shelf introduced two industrial robot palletizers to increase efficiencies, resulting in cost savings and fast ROI.

8 operators reallocated
5,700+ SKUs palletized
Less than 20 months ROI
150k USD/year in savings
Industrial palletizing made easy

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Story Highlights

Story highlights

The first palletizer was fully operational within 6 months, starting from initial contact to complete deployment.

8 full-time operators were reallocated to other, higher-value tasks to maximize productivity.

Easy SKU changeover to accommodate this low to mid-volume, high-mix facility.

Return on investment achieved in less than 20 months resulting in more automation opportunities.

The Problem

Finding a partner to achieve lean manufacturing initiatives

Rev-A-Shelf is the leading innovator of residential cabinet storage organizational products. As they experienced continuous business growth, the company faced challenges in attracting additional labor due to ongoing labor shortages. To enhance productivity with their current workforce, they prioritized the automation of various processes in their factories.

Rev-A-Shelf was looking to find lean automation solutions that fit their low to mid-volumes and high-mix of SKUs. These solutions needed to be flexible due to constant changeovers of SKUs and box sizes. They also needed to run on software simple enough that would not require a special technician to make changes.

In Vention, Rev-A-Shelf found a long-term partner that could provide the flexibility and ease-of-use they were looking for.

Kevin Bott, Plant Equipment-Controls Engineer

"I was challenged with one specific goal: Find a partner that I could work with in automation. I’m very confident that I found this partner in Vention."

—Kevin Bott, Plant Equipment-Controls Engineer

The Project

2 industrial robot palletizers serving 4 production lines

Together, Vention and Rev-A-Shelf designed, automated, and deployed 2 industrial robot palletizers to serve 4 production lines. The palletizers utilize the FANUC M-710ic industrial robot, chosen for its additional reach and heavy payload capabilities.

The machines run on MachineApps, an intuitive graphic interface to configure pallets and operate the palletizer. The software is simple enough that a standard operator can use the machine properly.

The Results

8 operators reallocated to higher-value tasks

Within just 6 months, Rev-A-Shelf had the first of its two robots on its manufacturing floor, far surpassing industry lead times. The addition of automation has allowed 8 operators to be reallocated to higher-value tasks, 20 months ROI, and over 150K USD per year in cost savings.

Together, Vention and Rev-A-Shelf will continue to partner on automation projects, further increasing production efficiencies and cost savings in this low to mid-volume, high-mix facility.

Project Specs

Robot
FANUC M-710iC
Conveyors
Roller Conveyors
Software
MachineApp
End-of-arm tool
Custom vacuum gripper

Learn more about robotic palletizing

Discover robotic palletizers & equipment
Discover robotic palletizers & equipment

Industry

Consumer Goods

Application

Packaging

Location

Kentucky, USA

Products

MachineBuilder
MachineApp