From breakfast to Easter: Perfect eggs thanks to automated palletizing
Alexandra Harin
Company
f&f SA/AG
Location
Schötz im Kanton Luzern
Challenge
Manual palletizing of cartons, shortage of skilled workers
Result
Increased efficiency, team support
At a glance
Whether as part of a leisurely Sunday brunch or as colorful Easter eggs, eggs are an integral part of our everyday lives. To ensure that they always arrive on the breakfast table fresh and of the highest quality, f&f SA/AG in Schötz in the canton of Lucerne adheres to the highest standards. The family-owned company has been supplying wholesalers and retailers throughout Switzerland with eggs and egg products for over 30 years. f&f attaches particular importance to quality, sustainability, and animal welfare. Complete traceability of every single egg – from the farm to the retailer – is particularly important to the company.
The Challenge
f&f SA/AG is not only one of Switzerland's leading suppliers of egg products, but also one of the most technologically advanced companies in the industry. Every day, countless eggs pass through highly automated systems in f&f SA/AG's modern production halls – from careful sorting to packaging. The systems are designed for efficiency, hygiene, and traceability and achieve an impressive level of automation. One of the last remaining manual tasks was palletizing the finished egg cartons – weighing 7 and 14 kg per unit. This step was physically demanding and tied up valuable human resources. Especially during peak periods such as around Easter, when throughput increases significantly, the team increasingly reached its limits with manual handling. The regular lifting of heavy cartons at high speeds led to noticeable ergonomic strain. The goal was therefore not only to make the process more efficient, but also to significantly reduce the physical strain on employees – an important contribution to more sustainable working conditions and a clear signal in dealing with the increasing shortage of skilled workers in food production. And all this without compromising on safety, cycle time, or traceability.
The solution
To automate the palletizing process, f&f SA/AG opted for a customized palletizing cell from coboworx, equipped with a Universal Robots cobot that can lift loads of up to 30 kg. A key criterion was the mobility of the system: the palletizing cell had to be flexible in use – for example, so that it could also be used in other locations. This requirement was met by a particularly compact and mobile design: the system is not anchored to the floor and can be easily moved using a pallet truck or forklift. The cobot palletizing solution includes the following details: • Compact palletizing cell with two pallet storage spaces and an enclosed protective fence system that combines safety and good visibility into the cell. An integrated light grid also ensures safe entry and exit of the pallets. • Conveyor belt with mechanical stops and adjustable guide plates for precise feeding of the egg cartons. • Grouping of cartons at the end of the conveyor belt enables efficient double picking. • Specially developed suction gripper that handles both the cartons and the rigid intermediate layers. • User-friendly touch panel that allows employees to select the appropriate packing scheme. The system is designed to palletize a defined number of cartons per hour in single or multiple picks. The filled pallets are removed manually.
Success – facts at a glance
approx. 10 m2
space requirement
7 and 14 kg
Weight of the cartons
600 cartons/hour in double picking
thoughput
Mobile
Execution of the system
Conclusion
The automation of the palletizing process at f&f SA/AG not only reduces the physical strain on employees, but also increases process reliability and efficiency. At the same time, the central requirement—the complete traceability of each individual product—remains fully intact. The mobile design makes the solution particularly flexible to use—a clear advantage during seasonal order peaks. The new solution is thus a further step in the consistent automation and future-proofing of production processes at f&f SA/AG. This ensures that eggs reach consumers fresh and safe – whether for their daily breakfast or the traditional Easter egg hunt.
Configure your palletizing solution now and receive a customized price quote within 48 hours.
Use CasePalettizingRobot Cell
Alexandra Harin
Senior Content Marketing Manager
You may also be interested in these articles:
Newsletter
Stay up to date with industry updates, new solutions, free webinars, and other topics. But don’t worry—you can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time.