Fri, 19 Dec 2025

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 Will tech trump tradition at bakers and biscuit makers?

Introducing robots and automation to the food industry involves extra hurdles.

* The Thomas Tunnock factory outside Glasgow produces 20 tonnes of caramel daily, which is spread onto wafers by a team of 12 workers.
* To determine if the caramel is at the right consistency, operators rely on sight and feel, squeezing it to check its texture.
* While machines are used to automate most of the production process, spreading caramel is a labor-intensive task that requires human flexibility and dexterity.
* Tunnock's is a small company competing with larger snack manufacturers like McVitie's and Fox's, but they aim to maintain their traditions while increasing output.
* To achieve this balance, the company has implemented a hybrid model of automation, using machines for tasks like mixing dough and dividing it into smaller quantities, while human workers handle more delicate tasks like forming loaves.
* A new robot arm developed by Unifiller can decorate cakes with toppings like caramel, but its design involves challenges such as hygiene and accommodating the variability of food products.
* Anomarel Ogen, head baker at The Bread Factory in northwest London, emphasizes the importance of human hands in baking, citing the delicacy of their dough and the need for staff to monitor production lines.
* Introducing new technology into a production line requires a balance between automation and preserving the "soul" of handcrafted products, according to Craig Le Clair, principal analyst at Forrester.
* Equipment maker Coperion is planning to develop its robot arm further, focusing on scanning, vision, and safety systems to enable seamless integration with human workers.
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