MINEBEA Intec has confirmed its new vision inspection product will be on show for the first time at PPMA Total Show in Birmingham next month.
VisioPointer is one of three new vision inspection products from the manufacturer, described as a ‘key’ product that helps drive automation within production and processing manufacturing.
Combined with the automatic weigh price labeller WPL-A, Minebea Intec explained that customers can automate their entire end of production line where labelling plays a ‘significant’ part of the manufacturing.
Peter Walker, country manager for the UK and Ireland, said, “Normally the overwhelming justification (for companies buying automated machinery) is product saving, but we’ve really noticed a switch now to labour saving – and not just labour saving but automating a process because there is no labour available to them.”
By automating more of the production process, Minebea intec said the need for staff diminishes allowing ‘long and consistent’ runs of product. It also reduces the requirement to train staff and maintain skills, while absence is no longer a concern.
Consistency is said to ‘greatly improve’ because everything is being checked and done in a consistent way. Peter added, “One of the biggest buying motivators for customers is because staff costs are rising – and that’s when you can get the staff. And, of course, what people realise is that as they automate, they generally manage to pack much better and in such a way that they don’t give away so much product. That will result in savings.
“Additionally, there’s currently a two-year government incentive to buy equipment that is very tax-efficient for people investing in automation.”
Minebea Intec added that the firm’s range of products enables customers to ‘easily identify’ solutions that can facilitate their manufacturing and where automation is key.
Mark Clifford, new business manager for the UK & Ireland, commented, “We offer a consultancy where we visit the customer and talk through the entire process, so we can really understand the requirements and challenges they face. As part of that consultation we identify where automation can benefit them and then demonstrate how it can be implemented so they are confident in making an investment in it.”
The manufacturer revealed that when evaluating the pros and cons of automation, customers should firstly review payback and consider the ROI. They also need to look at future-proofing, considering issues including whether the equipment can adapt if products adapt, what happens if packaging sizes change, and how flexible the equipment is.
Peter Walker said, “We have our own in-house service team, and we offer a range of contracts to the requirements of each individual customer depending on the type of response times they are looking for and how involved they like us to be with their maintenance. We do offer support right up to 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, on-site support for customers who feel that’s important.
“We also have a network of partners that we can use to help us cover some of that if we need to. Additionally, we’ve got our Minebea Intec Academy where we can train customers’ staff and maintenance engineers to run the machines efficiently and look after them. We can either run training courses in-house in our training and showroom, or we can do that on-site.”
