The value of automation in modern applications

BACK TO ALL NEWS

The value of automation in modern applications

3 Oct 2025

Maddie Lambert

Maddie Lambert is a copywriter and editor from Joplin, MO. She graduated from Missouri Southern State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English – literary studies. When she’s not poring over the magazine or lost in the pages of a new novel, you can find Maddie exploring her local bookstores, spending time with her husband, or sharing her latest literary discoveries with fellow book enthusiasts.

LAS VEGAS — Automation is a solution for a plethora of manufacturing woes. Not only is it a remedy for labor shortages — an ever-present challenge in today’s climate — it’s also a solution when manufacturers seek to stretch their operational capabilities.

OEMs are transforming formerly manual, labor-intensive lines into smart, fully integrated systems. Harpak-ULMA Packaging’s Spencer Thomas, applications engineer, and Joshua Allen, marketing director, delivered insights into this transformation in their session, Designed for Production: Real-World Automation for a New Manufacturing Reality at Pack Expo 2025, held Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Las Vegas.

From changeovers and SKU complexity to digitalization, automation can help with speed, flexibility and scale. Real-world applications of robotics, AI and system integration offer manufacturers synchronized, enterprise-wide automation.

But, according to Thomas, the first step is to imagine it working as one united entity.

“The real value doesn’t come from plugging machines into existing processes,” he said. “It comes from rethinking operations altogether. Apply the engineering design process to your process, understand the design constraints and performance criteria, and do it from a lens of the full system as opposed to one action that needs to be automated … think of it cohesively.”

Rethinking workflows to align with modern realities can be as straightforward as segmenting production lines by SKU volume, prioritizing high-throughput SKUs and dedicating automation investments to those efforts first, before moving on to more semi-manual and flexible operations.

“The real value [of automation] doesn’t come from plugging machines into existing processes. It comes from rethinking operations altogether.” — Spencer Thomas | applications engineer | Harpak-ULMA

“A lot of people are running many SKUs, and then they have to change over between them, and that can cause problems with downtime,” Thomas said. “You can automate your changeovers, and that can be accomplished through having motor-driven adjustments to certain machines so that all adjustments are made automatically.”

This strategy allows more time for changeovers and can lead to cost savings and improved OEE (overall equipment effectiveness).

Packaging design is another area evolving due to automation.

“When you want to automate your whole system, you want to make sure that your packaging is aligned with the ways in which the automation equipment works,” Thomas said. “Certain formats are more lending to automation. We had a protein case packer that had six case styles, and they were able to consolidate into a single case packing format and saw cost savings as a result of that.”

The automation value extends beyond the labor and cost savings; however, it’s important to consider constraints and performance criteria, and above all, allay fears of automation replacing the labor force.

“A big piece of this is not replacing talent, which is often misconstrued within automation … that you’re replacing one for another.” Allen said. “It’s not replacing your people. It’s just using their skills differently.”

Advertisement

BACK TO ALL NEWS