All Creative’s goal was to free the operator at their Cutter, so he could work on other jobs on multiple machines simultaneously. This achievement became reality by implementing a robot-based solution to automate their operations, benefiting both the worker on the shop floor and the company’s overall financial performance.
The aim of automation isn’t to cut down on employees but to ramp up productivity. When robots are introduced, employees shouldn’t worry about losing their jobs; they’ll just be reassigned to different, more engaging tasks.
I’ve never been involved in letting go of an employee because of the introduction of a robot. Quite the opposite!
Robots boost efficiency, enabling us to handle many more tasks, which, in turn, fosters additional growth.”
Michael Andersen, Production Manager
We have met with COO and partner Michael Andersen and Production Manager Jan Thisted and had a talk about automation, flexibility and competitiveness.
“When did you decide to automate your production and why?”
“For us, the clear path forward is automation. We’d ideally like our machines to run 24/7, so we can provide our customers with quick deliveries and a great deal of flexibility.
We’ve wanted to improve the automation of our cutting table for quite a while, and a few years ago, we really began to dive into it. However, there are no ready-made automation solutions in the market for our very specialized and niche industry. Therefore, we had to create a custom solution tailored specifically for our needs.
Previously, we had a man locked to the cutter all day, who did nothing else but put boards on and take them off again. Had it been a more specialized function, it would have been something else. But in this case, it was a function that could easily be automated.”
”When do you expect full return on investment?”
“We’ve estimated that the system will have paid for itself in about two years and will effectively save us nearly one full position.
Surprisingly, only a couple of weeks after the installation, we’ve already reduced our workforce needs by half, and we’re quite happy about that.
The whole arrangement is reasonably priced, which makes us open to doing it again. From our perspective, this investment is very rational when considering the returns.
By including the robot on the cutting table, we make better use of our cutting capacity. So, the robot’s price is not as important because it quickly pays off when our existing cutting table becomes more efficient.
The machine is meant to cut around the clock without needing someone to operate it.
Every unmanned hour we can produce is bottom-line profit for us.”
The ABB robot was installed in January 2022.
The installation itself took around 3 days, following which the cutter could get back to work, this time with an automated companion.
In their Havndal facility, they have been using robot technology for 15 years, although on a smaller scale.
However, when it comes to the tasks assigned to the Vejle robot, it’s clear that “bigger” is unquestionably “better”!
About All Creative
All Creative manufactures imaginative displays, packaging, and POS solutions for a diverse range of customers. They operate production facilities in Vejle and Havndal, along with a sales office in Herlev. In their Vejle production site, they specialize in working with cardboard and corrugated paper, providing services such as digital printing, die-cutting, and digital cutting.
