\Mobile Industrial Robots A/S (MiR) signed a new integration partner CSi Palletising, a Netherlands-based company that provides full end-of-line palletizing solutions to some of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods (CPG)/fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. The first offering from this new collaboration includes CSi palletising’s high-level infeed layer palletizer integrated with MiR’s new MiR1350 autonomous mobile robot (AMR) to help fully automate the transport of heavy pallets of materials within CPG/FMCG facilities.

CSi palletising’s Taros palletizer has previously integrated with multiple conveyors for the transport of finished goods into warehouses and empty pallets towards the machine. The company will now integrate MiR’s AMRs for transporting pallets to a single conveyor for storage or a position at the infeed of a pallet wrapper, with the full solution working seamlessly with the customer’s automation systems (ERP/WMS).

“Inflexible infrastructures, often including conveyors that are difficult to relocate when facility needs change, are truly a thing of the past, and for this reason we had been seeking a more autonomous and flexible way of moving finished goods,” said Jan de Bruijn, CEO, CSi Group. “Autonomous mobile robots provide these efficiencies, enabling a powerful option for fully automated workflow in palletizing. With MiR as our partner, we are bringing to market the next generation of palletizing for CPG companies worldwide.”

The MiR1350, which can autonomously transport loads of 1350 kg (2976 pounds), navigates smoothly and safely among people and other transport equipment in dynamic surroundings. Like MiR’s lower-payload AMR models, which can also work with CSi palletising’s solutions, the MIR1350 includes sensors, 3D cameras and the latest laser scanning technology to ensure 360-degree vision for precise and safe navigation and operations. The MiR1350 is designed to comply with the industry’s latest safety standards, including ISO 3691-4 and ANSI/RIA R15.08-1-2020. Along with the MiR600, the MiR1350 is the market’s first Ingress Protection52-rated AMR, which means that components are protected against dust and water drops, ensuring an high performance level, suitable to function reliably at the end of production lines and in warehouses.

Partnership opens up AMRs for new applications for FMCG, other industries

CSi palletising, which successfully demonstrated its Taros solution built on the MIR1350 at Fachpack 2021 in Germany last week, has various levels of automation already deployed within its customers’ workflows.

“CSi palletising already owns systems that connect directly into their customer’s manufacturing processes, so integrating our AMRs into the workflow is basically seamless because one of their systems is already part of the workflow,” said Vladimir Vovk, global accounts director for FMCG, Mobile Industrial Robots. “As companies learn the benefits mobile robots can bring to their organizations, such as flexibility, increased safety and increased productivity, they start to find other applications that would benefit. As we’ve been discovering, the options are nearly endless, and with CSi, we’re able to help these CPG/FMCG companies uncover them.”