SCADA and AMRs: Redefining Production Floor Efficiency

Plastics Business Magazine sat down with Hoffer Plastics Automation Project Manager, Adam VanMeter, following the company’s 2024 MAPP Innovation Award in Automation Manufacturing Solutions: Smart Manufacturing Solutions. VanMeter shared more about the award-winning entry, specifically how the company has successfully integrated cutting-edge technologies, including a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to streamline its manufacturing operations. The SCADA system manages and coordinates tasks such as assembling, transporting and filling boxes, while AMRs move empty and filled boxes throughout the facility.

This automation has significantly reduced manual labor and repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on more skilled roles, ultimately saving over 55,000 hours of manual labor and protecting employees from lifting between 1.5 and 2.0 million pounds annually. VanMeter shared that these innovations have greatly enhanced workflow efficiency across the production floor.

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