Image is inserted in the background – with a height of 50vh – This text is transparent
Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co KG
Practical and well squared
Automation for Ritter Sport
Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co KG, known for its iconic Ritter Sport chocolate bars, is a traditional family business that was founded in 1912. With its headquarters in Waldenbuch, Swabia, and another production site in Breitenbrunn, Austria, Ritter Sport produces chocolate that is sold in over 100 countries worldwide.
The company attaches great importance to sustainability and only uses certified sustainable cocoa for its products.
Food/food packaging
Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co KG
Ritter Sport
880 sheets / minute
Gripper
Lifting table
Stacking system
Packaging
The fully automated packaging system from robomotion has enabled us to significantly increase our efficiency and flexibility. The system was implemented in a very small space and enables us to react quickly to product adjustments while ensuring our own high quality standards.
N.N., Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co KG
The challenge
Ritter Sport was faced with the challenge of optimizing the packaging process for its chocolate bars.
Previously, the bars were packed manually in stages, which was inefficient due to the high product variance and the different packaging films and bar heights. The aim was to develop a highly flexible and fully automated packaging system that offers maximum automation and flexibility. Inspection systems were also to be integrated in order to safeguard processes and avoid downtime. The solution had to be tailor-made so that it could be integrated into the existing infrastructure in the tightest of spaces.
The solution
To meet these requirements, a robotic solution consisting of five six-axis robots was developed to automate the entire process of secondary and tertiary packaging of chocolate bars.
The process begins with depalletizing the source pallet, with undergrip and roll-on grippers picking up 4,800 unmixed sheets per pallet in B-cartons. The intermediate layers are precisely handled by the robot with a suction unit. The sheets are then sucked in, spread out and placed on two lifting tables in lanes in order to pack them efficiently in modular cartons. Dead times are minimized by alternating lift table placement.
The modular cartons are automatically erected, glued and the panels inserted. The cartons are closed and packed in sub-cartons. Several quality controls with 3D inspection cameras safeguard the process and minimize downtimes. There are two options for tertiary packaging: Either the modular cartons are directly stacked and wrapped or automatically packed into container cartons.
This solution offers maximum efficiency and precision when packing the chocolate bars. It also enables quick adaptation to different product variants and packaging films.
