Industry professionals attending the International Baking Industry Exposition will be among the first to witness the next generation of automation equipment, including a record number involving robotics and vision systems. Much of the automated equipment to be launched at IBIE will carry a lower price-tag than the systems of the past, as well.

According to Rich Hoskins, IBIE committee vice chair, “Automation systems have come a long way in the past 10 years, both in performance and price. The new equipment incorporates the latest engineering advancements into applications specific for the harsh bakery environments to give bakers an effective means for improving operating efficiency, increasing ROI and staying ahead in today’s competitive marketplace.”

Kerwin Brown, president and CEO of BEMA, the Baking Industry Suppliers Association adds: “Most bakers I speak to today have labor issues, are operating at or near capacity and need to improve flexibility to keep up with changing consumer demands. The equipment that will be showcased by several BEMA members at IBIE was developed to provide specific solutions to all of those challenges.”

Suppliers rolling out new innovations at IBIE include LeMatic, Inc. with the latest in robotic picking, packaging and palletizing; Workhouse Automation with its new BISSC-certified single-level Automatic Pan Storage and Retrieval Transporter System; and Colborne Corp., which has started a separate robotics division aimed at improving labor savings, quality increases and maximum up-time for its customers. These and thousands of other innovative launches are scheduled to take place at IBIE 2007. Visit www.IBIE2007.com for more information.