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Alimentos Cielo manufactures bread flour and wheat products, such as pasta, in Lima. The company was founded in 1999 and today processes 4,500 kg of wheat per day, seven days a week. Until the end of the production line was automated, five or six people would manually receive and arrange 50-kg bags.
Today, that work is done by a team at Atlas Robots: a bag palletizer with its carrier, which has been in operation since 2022.
Project Overview
| Client | Cielo Foods |
|---|---|
| Sector | Milling: bread flour and pasta flour |
| Country | Peru (Lima) |
| Cell installed | Bag Palletizer and Conveyor |
| Format | 50-kg bags |
| Startup | 2022 |
| Spokesperson | Dani Pinto |
The Starting Point
The bottleneck was in the bagging process. Each bag weighs 50 kg, and the line’s pace requires that they be received, oriented, and stacked without pause. Alimentos Cielo assigned between five and six people to that task, and the process took 24 hours of work.
As Dani Pinto explains, the problem wasn't just the cost: "For the person lifting a 50-kg bag, it's tedious and tiring work." Added to that was the responsibility for the worker's health.
What Was Automated
Atlas Robots In 2022, the company installed a bag palletizer with an end-of-line conveyor. The company maintained its workforce: the employees who had been working at the end of the line were reassigned to other departments within the plant.
Results
- 4,500 kg wheat products processed daily, seven days a week, with no manual handling at the end of the line
- The teams are working 16 hours a day and even 30 days a month
- A bagging process for 24 hours optimized after a year and a half of operation with the robots
- From five or six people receiving 50-kg bags with no manual handling at that station
- Four more robotic arms purchased to automate new stages of production
We would recommend that Peruvian and Latin American business owners use Atlas robotic arms: they shouldn't be afraid to make this kind of investment. Dani Pinto, Alimentos Cielo
The Full Interview
Transcript of the interview
Dani Pinto, Alimentos Cielo (Lima, Peru). Transcript edited slightly for readability.
My name is Dani Pinto. I’m going to introduce you to Alimentos Cielo, a company based in Lima, Peru. Alimentos Cielo specializes in the production of staple foods: bread flour and wheat products, such as pasta.
Alimentos Cielo was founded in 1999. We never imagined how big it would become, nor did we work with that in mind—we just worked and did things right. We process approximately 4,500 kg of wheat every day, seven days a week.
There are always fears associated with automation, because we don’t know what the results will be. But after a year and a half of working with the team, we’ve been able to optimize this process. We used to spend 24 hours bagging, and that represented a significant financial cost for us, not to mention the responsibility we had for our workers’ health.
Before, we had five or six people receiving a sack and stacking, stacking, stacking. Each sack weighs 50 kg, and keep in mind that for one person to carry 50 kg and stack it at that pace is heavy, tedious, and tiring. This allows us to use our workforce for other services.
The equipment you see behind me operates for about 16 hours a day, and sometimes even all 30 days of the month. These robots provide us with essential day-to-day support in the production process. If they are properly maintained, they shouldn't experience any malfunctions.
We currently have two robotic arms, and we are in the process of purchasing four more to automate other stages of our production lines. The experience was positive: high-quality equipment and good service.
It is important to stay at the forefront of technology. While it is true that Peru still has a long way to go in terms of business and industrial growth, it is important for Peruvians to invest in this type of technology because it greatly supports our production processes. We would recommend Atlas robotic arms to Peruvian and Latin American business owners: don’t be afraid to make this kind of investment.
Do you move 25- or 50-kg bags by hand at the end of your production line? We'll let you know during a call whether a standard cell would work for your facility and how much it would cost.