NEW EVENT! Cutting-edge Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast
Discover all the latest packaging & processing solutions for food products at the all-new PACK EXPO Southeast in Atlanta, GA, March 10-12, 2025

AGVs can be a game changer in food and bev

Automated guided vehicles can enhance plant floor safety, improve material movement, ensure consistency and improve inventory tracking and traceability for an industry that faces considerable changes and pressures.

Steve Szamocki
Steve Szamocki
This article originally appeared in Automation World magazine.

Food and beverage is one of the fastest changing industries today. Pressures from safety, volume, cost to produce and quality standpoints continue to escalate, along with traceability and genealogy. To stay ahead of the competition and contribute to the bottom line, companies must remain flexible. Automating the plant is essential, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) can enhance plant floor safety, improve material movement, ensure consistency and improve inventory tracking and traceability.

AGVs have been used almost exclusively in the automotive industry over the past 25 years but are now replacing forklifts in other industries as companies find them more efficient. Additional benefits include reduced product damage, more cost-effective processing, reinforced workforce discipline and reduction of safety-related incidents. AGVs aren’t for every business, but in the right operations they have many benefits. Typical applications include storing and moving raw materials in warehouse locations, delivering raw materials to production lines, pickups and drop-offs at the end of the line, and automated loading and unloading of transport.

Another key benefit of using AGVs is ensuring the safety of employees. This is equally important to the outcome of product safety and quality, as well as to the success of the company. Stressful, fast-paced operations can lead to accidents—slips and falls are the greatest risks for workers in food processing plants. Accidents result not only in loss of work as employees are off the job, but can also financially impact the business with insurance and legal claims.

INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast
The exciting new PACK EXPO Southeast 2025 unites all vertical markets in one dynamic hub, generating more innovative answers to food packaging and processing challenges. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity for your business!
REGISTER FOR $30!
INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast