ReAutomated targets South African packing lines with robotic retrofit cells

ReAutomated is rolling out robot palletising and case packing retrofits for existing South African packing lines, starting with a site survey of the equipment already in place. The Kempton Park integrator says the approach is meant to automate the last metres of production without replacing workable conveyors, erectors or wrappers.

Why it matters: - South African plants can automate palletising and packing without ripping out entire lines. - ReAutomated’s retrofit model is aimed at the last manual step where cartons are still lifted by hand at the end of a conveyor. - The approach can reduce downtime risk because existing conveyors, case erectors and wrappers can stay in service.

What happened: - ReAutomated, a robotics integrator based in Spartan, Kempton Park, published a range of robotic retrofits for packing and palletising lines. - The offering is aimed at plants that want to automate existing lines rather than buy new ones. - The company’s retrofit range covers carton, bag, shrink pack, drum and mixed case palletisers. - The range also includes single-line and dual-line cells, plus high-infeed and low-level layouts for conveyors that discharge at awkward heights. - On the packing side, ReAutomated offers case packer, bottle and can packing retrofits, pouch packing cells, tray loading robots and crate handling robots. - Supporting equipment includes slip sheet feeders, pallet dispensers, turntables and layer forming units. - The company uses vacuum, clamp and bag grippers on a quick-change system for lines that run more than one pack.

The details: - Every project starts with a site line survey. - The survey checks conveyor heights, transfer points, guarding, access routes and operator movement. - The survey also identifies the real bottleneck on the line. - ReAutomated’s controls and commissioning lead said the problem is not always the robot, and skewed or doubled cases can slow a cell more than lifting does. - The company says it prefers to fix infeed and spacing first when product feed is the issue. - ReAutomated recommends a cobot when floor space is tight and products are light to medium. - The company recommends a traditional robot cell when duty cycles are higher or more reach is needed. - Sound conveyors stay in place, and transfer points change only where product orientation is inconsistent. - ReAutomated also asks customers to plan for future pack sizes so a cell does not need to be rebuilt after a carton change. - Each cell gets a risk assessment and a guard design. - The guard design can include access gates for jam clearing and service work. - The safety package can also include emergency stops within easy reach, plus light curtains or interlocks where operators enter the area. - Controls integration ties each cell into existing conveyor signals, start and stop logic and fault handling. - Commissioning is planned around live production with dry runs and product trials. - Operators are trained on reset steps and safe clearing before handover.

Between the lines: - ReAutomated is positioning robotics as a retrofit service, not a greenfield line replacement business. - The company’s emphasis on infeed quality suggests many automation failures are caused by upstream handling, not the robot arm itself. - The focus on future pack sizes reflects a common factory problem: packaging changes can force costly rework if the cell is too specific. - The mention of regional plants and environmental checks points to a design approach that adapts to local conditions rather than a one-size-fits-all setup.

What's next: - ReAutomated says site surveys can be booked through its website. - The company works with food, beverage, consumer goods and building products plants in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Gqeberha. - It checks coastal humidity, dust and washdown rules before a design is signed off. - ReAutomated says it retrofits robotic packing and palletising cells, conveyor integration, safety guarding and controls onto existing production lines from its Kempton Park base. - The company is operated by Astros Marketing (Pty) Ltd and is part of the same South African trade network as am.co.za.

The bottom line: - ReAutomated is betting that many South African packhouses want automation that fits around existing equipment, not a full line replacement.