Dairy Processing -March/April 2022 - 45

silo alcove, pilot plant and test kitchen used to develop and
test new flavors and products.
" We take great pride in our ability to reinvest in our
home region of West Michigan as we continue to grow the
distribution of our ice cream throughout the Midwest, " said
John St. Aubin, operations leader, Hudsonville Ice Cream.
" This expansion allows us to streamline our innovation and
product integrity and create jobs for our local economy. With
this project, our ice cream will move from the manufacturing
line straight to our own freezer space before it is distributed
to retailers and reaches homes in more than a dozen states. "
Ti Cold designs and builds warehouses that process,
cool, freeze, temper and store a wide range of products. The
company has been in business for over 100 years, helping
companies solve unique cold storage challenges in the United
States and Canada.
" One of the keys to the success of Ti Cold is the turn-key
nature of our processes, " said Sam Tippmann, president of
Ti Cold, based in Fort Wayne, Ind. " We bring time-honed
expertise to provide a full suite of cold storage construction
and development services, including master site planning and
operations guidance. "
LEANING INTO AUTOMATION
As part of increasing innovation for warehouse automation,
robotics technology will continue to drive the cold chain
through 2022 and beyond. The robotics market is expected
to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10%, reaching
almost $70.6 billion by 2028. Robots can prove incredibly
helpful in managing inventory from the warehouse to the
shipping zone, improving the efficiency, speed, reliability and
accuracy of moving products.
Until recently, cold storage managers and operators had
to be physically present inside a facility to monitor product.
Today, IoT has an important role in the cold chain system,
creating the ability to monitor devices and provide live data
about product temperature and location.
Warehouse automation doesn't refer to a single system,
but rather several systems working in tandem. Some common
categories of automation include pallet shuttles, Autonomous
Guided Vehicles (AGVs), palletizers and depalletizers, and
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS).
It can be difficult to fill positions in any warehouse
environment, but the harsh environment of a freezing cold
or refrigerated warehouse means it's even more challenging
to find and keep quality talent. As consumer packaged goods
(CPG) companies grapple with supply chain and cold chain
challenges, as well as labor shortages, priorities have shifted
to an emphasis on resolving the workforce challenge with
more automation.
" Intuitive equipment that trains operators faster is gaining
relevance, " said Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market
development at PMMI, during a presentation at Pack Expo
Las Vegas. " With all these challenges, CPGs are asking
equipment manufacturers to provide equipment that someone
they grab off the street can come in and run. That's not an
easy challenge, and so what we're finding is more intuitive
equipment and more remote service and training. "
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