Automation technology and reusable packaging in a bakery environment can lead to a range of benefits, including greater efficiency and elevated sustainability. Andrea Nottestad, senior product manager, ORBIS, recently spoke with Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery about the symbiotic relationship between reusable containers and automated systems.
Jenni Spinner: Could you please talk a little bit about how automation in general impacts sustainability in a snack or bakery processing/packaging operation (for better or worse)?
Andrea Nottestad: The use of automated systems brings about a variety of operational and labor efficiencies. It is also a catalyst for consistent performance in today’s plants. It reduces variability and the waste resulting from it. That waste can come in the form of work processes or items such as packaging. If single-use trays, totes, or pallets are used in an automated system, they are only able to be used one time or a limited number of times before they are disposed of.