Rockwell Automation Ignites a New Era: Industry’s First Fully Automated Bacon Line

Revolutionizing Food Production with Intelligent Automation

In an exciting leap forward for the food industry, Rockwell Automation partnered with Middleby Food Processing to achieve a phenomenal milestone: creating the world's very first fully automated bacon production line. The impressive achievement was unveiled with pride at the IFFA trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, earlier this year. As demand for improved, faster, and sustainable food processing has grown, Middleby Food Processing wisely engaged Rockwell as a consultant. They required a shared platform of automation that would fundamentally transform the way they manufacture.

Overcoming Key Challenges with Strategic Solutions

Middleby Food Processing, the Elgin, Illinois-based foodservice equipment company, is an industry leader in innovation. They recognized a fundamental need for a scalable solution. Customers are confronted with increasing labor costs, limited space, and more stringent sustainability regulations. Therefore, Rockwell Automation was the ideal partner. Its advanced engineering expertise, seamless integration capabilities, and history of future-proofing manufacturing systems make it one-of-a-kind.

A Platform for Integrated Control and Flexibility

Middleby Food Processing President Mark Salman highlighted the strategic significance of this agreement. "Exceptional integration of Rockwell Automation technology across the Middleby Food Processing brands was just key to our decision," he explained. Middleby required long-term flexibility and fundamental interoperability among various machines. Rockwell delivered just that, along with solid engineering support and cutting-edge programming techniques. Their response is based on FactoryTalk Optix, a standardization of operator interfaces, and application code libraries such as Machine Builder Library and Device Objects. This guarantees equal programming structure for every equipment manufacturer.

Driving Efficiency and Sustainability Through Innovation

This next-generation architecture has tangible benefits. It makes trouble-shooting and remote assistance much simpler for service technicians. In addition, it enables advanced real-time data approaches and improves overall production flexibility. The fully automated bacon line is the outcome of this innovation. It dramatically boosts throughput, significantly reduces labor requirements, and significantly reduces wastewater usage. "We are delighted to empower Middleby Food Processing's vision for the future of food production," said Steve Pulsifer, senior manager, partner marketing, Rockwell Automation. "This project clearly demonstrates what is achievable when innovation and automation meet."

Building on Impact Throughout the Food Industry

While the automated bacon line is the ace innovation, Middleby Food Processing has no plans of slowing down. Their ambitions include other food segments, such as bakery and protein. These end-to-end solutions, powered by Rockwell Automation, are also meticulously designed with flexibility in mind. Customers can comfortably tailor systems to fit their own particular operational needs, thereby maintaining a competitive edge in a fluid market. This partnership not only brings about standards of food production but also paves the way towards an automated and sustainable industrial future.

Rockwell Automation Products