Station 02 of 06

Automation & Conveying

Automation and conveying is the station that moves product from one machine to the next and keeps the whole line running at one pace. In a food plant this means sanitary conveyors built to be washed down, along with the controls, accumulation and transfer points that link processing to packaging and packaging to palletising. Good conveying is easy to overlook until it fails: a poorly designed transfer can damage fragile product, create hiding places for bacteria or starve a packing machine of product. Sanitary conveyors come as belt, modular plastic belt, vibratory and other designs, each suited to different products, from wet raw vegetables to baked goods and sealed packs. Buyers weigh hygienic design and cleaning time, gentle handling, how easily the layout can be changed, and how well the conveyors integrate with the line's control system. Because conveyors touch every station, their design affects throughput, product quality and sanitation across the whole plant.