The Advanced Factories Expo and Congress was the goto venue for technology solutions from Manufacturing Execution Systems to Big Data analytics, to CNC, to metrology, and of course, collaborative robotics.
The Expo and Congress, promoted by Nebext with the collaboration of Eurecat, closed its doors last Thursday (6th of April) after a surprisingly packed three days of exhibition floor and conference room activity.
Many of the relevant indicators point to a growing trend in the use of robots in the Food and Beverages industry (F&B). Among the drivers impelling this development are changes in social behavior and consumer preferences, adaptation to an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, and the need to increase productivity in order to give a higher return on capital investment.
Robotics and autonomous vehicles, along with technologies such as the Internet of Everything (IoE), big data analysis and additive manufacturing, will irreversibly transform supply chain operations and logistics, of both the indoors and outdoors kinds. The principal worldwide logistics services, and the technologies suppliers, are adapting their strategies and establishing alliances which will mark the way towards these future scenarios.
