There’s a strong case for the future growth of robots in food production in Europe, believes Dutch bank ING, as companies look to boost competitiveness, improve product quality and respond to rising labour costs.
Operational robot stock in food and beverage manufacturing has almost doubled since 2014, according to the latest data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Now, over 90,000 robots are in use in the global food and beverage manufacturing industry, picking and packing confectionery or placing different toppings on fresh pizzas or salads. Some 37% of these are in the EU.
While robots are getting more common in food manufacturing, their presence is limited to a minority of businesses with, for example, only one in ten food producers in the EU currently making use of robots. There’s therefore room for growth. The IFR expects new robot installations across all industries to rise 6% per year in the coming three years. It says improvements in technology will create additional opportunities for companies to implement industrial robots, and that prices of robot devices have been declining.
New analysis from Dutch bank ING predicts that, in EU food manufacturing, robot density - or the number of robots per 10,000 employees - will rise from an average 75 robots per 10,000 employees in 2020 to 110 in 2015. In terms of operation stock, it expects the number of industrial robots to range between 45,00 to 55,000. While robots are more common in the US than in the EU, several EU countries boast the highest levels of robotisation. In the Netherlands, for example, where labour costs are high, robot stock in food and beverage manufacturing stood at 275 per 10,000 employees in 2020.