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A prominent food manufacturing company specializing in tomato processing faced a significant challenge with their existing peeler system. The controls hardware was outdated, causing a higher risk of downtime, limited maintenance support, and poor controls performance and control network communications. The company needed to resolve these challenges and sought the support of Automation Group, an E Tech Group company. The food manufacturer chose Automation Group for their proven track record and expertise in control systems, ensuring a swift and successful automation project.

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Challenges arise when hardware and software become outdated. This was the case for a leading food manufacturer who needed modernized controls for their warehouse conveyor system. The existing Allen-Bradley PLC-5 hardware was obsolete and lacked modern communication protocol. The conveyor system also lacked HMIs to monitor processes, identify problems, and visualize data. Because of this, the customer sought the help of Automation Group, an E Tech Group company, to upgrade their Allen-Bradley PLC-5 to the latest Rockwell Automation ControlLogix L81E processor, integrate AVEVA InTouch HMI stations, and connect devices over an EtherNet/IP communication network.

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From decreased productivity to system downtime, legacy equipment can pose many challenges to operational efficiency. This was the case for a leading consumer packaged goods company who was relying on PLC-5 hardware to control most of their facility. The plant recently experienced a major disruption during peak production because of a network switch failure, and it was later discovered that the disruption could have been minimized if the facility had been separated into multiple virtual local area networks (VLANs). To support the creation of VLANs, the customer’s existing PLC-5 control system would need to be upgraded to the ControlLogix system which could handle multiple independent Ethernet connections. Automation Group was called to support the project given their previous assistance with consolidating the company’s DH+ and ControlNet network communications in support of their industrial automation applications.

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Quality control can be a significant challenge in the food and beverage industry. One small error in the batch production of products can compromise quality, consistency, and brand reputation. To be successful, beverage facilities rely on batch production and pasteurization solutions so processes can be repeatable within close tolerances as well as scalable to reach large production volume needs. The setup of these solutions are often complex which cause beverage manufacturers to seek support to avoid costly downtime, inferior batch quality, or poor data acquisition capabilities for regulatory reporting.  This was the challenge for a global drink manufacturing leader who needed support setting up a new production line that included batching, pasteurizing, and bottling capabilities with a dedicated Clean-In-Place (CIP) system. Automation Group was engaged to support the development of a new juice and tea production system at one of the customer’s large production facilities in North America.

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Olive oil production relies on robust storage systems. Storage systems that have inadequate controls against light, heat, and oxygen exposure can compromise the freshness of olive oil products and result in considerable production loss for olive oil manufacturers. To combat this, olive oil companies commonly use temperature controlled and light-protected stainless steel tanks to safely store the olive oil until it’s ready to be bottled. Any mismatch in storage capacity to olive oil production presents a manufacturing bottleneck and loss of profits. For one of the largest olive oil producers in California, the ability to scale their business relied on a robust storage system to expand their olive oil processing capabilities. Industry partner Barnum Mechanical Inc. teamed up with Automation Group to support the company’s storage system needs.

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