Captions in English
Initial situation
Kiilto’s Hankasalmi production facilities produce cleaning products for professionals and consumers. Most of the work phases used to be carried out manually in the factory’s bottling line with the highest workload. This required a large workforce since the factory produces millions of bottles per year. The work was strenuous and ergonomically challenging.
Investments had been made in the automation at the beginning of the line, but full productivity and efficiency could only be achieved after the end of the line had also been automated.
Kiilto’s environmental and cost-efficiency goals also supported the investment case. They would be able to get rid of packaging plastic used in group packing and transfer production staff to carry out other duties.
Kiilto selected Orfer to take care of the automation of secondary packaging and palletizing at the final parts of the line. The decision was based on the price/quality ratio, a Finnish supplier, comprehensive lifecycle services and an impressive list of references.
The solution
Orfer installed a flexible secondary packaging and robotic palletizing system in the autumn of 2021.
The automation system packs individually packed products into sales boxes and onto pallets for transport according to the selected pallet pattern. The pallets filled with detergents are then wrapped automatically and moved to the warehouse to wait for transport.
Orfer also provided user training for Kiilto staff after the installation of the automation system. Production Manager Anssi Manninen was happy with Orfer’s comprehensive user training for five production employees who then went on to train other employees.
Kiilto’s Maintenance Technician Risto Laukkanen appreciates the fact that Kiilto can turn to Orfer’s 24/7 remote support services in case there are any problems. Thanks to this service, we have always been able to bring production back on track in a short period of time.
Orfer has since updated new products and product groups into the flexible automation system.
Based on the positive experience, Kiilto invested in another similar automation system, and Orfer was selected as the supplier again. The new system will be taken into production use at the end of 2024.
Impacts
Social impacts
With regard to social impacts, Manninen said that an employee had previously gone on sick leave. Without the new production line, this employee would not have been able to return to work so quickly. Manninen also noted that working on the line is not physically hard because the employees do not need to lift products all the time.At first, some people felt that the automation system was a threat, but the modern system has now been received well. Working on the line is more meaningful and varied now. Working on the same line has brought new competence requirements with it.
Manninen explained how the employees feel about automation:
“Usually when automation is increased, people are afraid that they will lose their jobs. In our case, however, we were able to transfer staff to other duties. People have liked the automation systems and adding automation has led to a positive change. Working on the line is no longer paced and manual; instead, employees now monitor the line, keep it running and remove disturbances.”
Financial impacts
Investing in the beginning of the line resulted in cost efficiencies, but the biggest financial benefits were realized after the automation of the entire bottling line.
After Kiilto’s investment, just one employee is now needed for the line instead of three, and the employee’s work consists of placing materials into the machines. The automation of the production line cut the turnaround time in half and doubled the productivity. Automating the secondary packaging and palletizing on the line added another 10% to the productivity of the original investment.
Environmental impacts
The compact secondary packaging improved the efficiency of palletizing by approximately 20%, which means that, in addition to achieving environmental benefits, the cost-efficiency of logistics was also improved. The layout of the production line enables a smooth movement between the systems.
Kiilto’s customers can benefit from 100% recyclable, shelf-ready secondary packaging which makes shelving at the store quicker. This means that all the parties benefit from the new systems.