Herederos de Núñez Honrado: A bag-palletizing robot in production since 2015

The question we’re asked most often by manufacturers considering automation isn’t how much the robot produces. It’s how long it lasts.

Herederos de Núñez Honrado has the longest response of all our facilities. When we recorded this interview in 2024, their bag palletizer was wearing nine years on the job with all inspections completed and no issues.

Project Overview

Client	Heirs of Núñez Honrado
Sector	Feed Manufacturing
Country	Spain
Cell installed	Bag palletizer
Startup	2015 — first installation of Atlas Robots
Spokesperson	Francisco Manuel Guizado Pérez, Plant Manager

The Starting Point

Before the robot, the end of the production line was all manual labor. “Back then, you’d handle three, four, or five pallets at most, and by the time you got home, you were completely exhausted—because it was all heavy lifting,” explains Francisco Manuel Guizado.

The limit wasn't commercial; it was physical. Selling more meant setting up more facilities or asking people to do more than their bodies could handle.

Results

• From 3 to 5 pallets per day at 20 or 30
• 20,000 to 30,000 kg palletized in 4 or 5 hours
• In service since 2015, with only scheduled maintenance
• Fewer blows to the bag: the grain arrives in better condition, and product quality improves

An unexpected result: the quality of the grain

The benefit that the customer highlights isn't listed on any spec sheet. The robot's gripper picks up the bag and places it on the pallet without the jostling that occurs when an operator who has been loading for eight hours handles it.

The robot doesn't handle the sack as roughly: it picks it up and sets it down, so there aren't as many jolts. That way, the grain stays more intact, doesn't get crushed as much, and the quality is better. Francisco Manuel Guizado Pérez, Plant Manager

Since 2015 and counting

The arms of our cells are refurbished industrial robots that we dismantle ourselves at automotive plants. They arrive with about 30,000 hours of use out of a design life of 100,000, and a palletizer operates for about 1,500 hours per shift per year.

This installation is the field test of that calculation. If you want to see how we prepare each arm before integrating it, we explain the process step by step in the process REFIT.

The robot has been running for about nine years and is working perfectly. We haven't had any problems; it's working great. Francisco Manuel Guizado Pérez

The Full Interview

Transcript of the interview

Francisco Manuel Guizado Pérez, plant manager at Herederos de Núñez Honrado. Transcription slightly edited for readability.

My name is Francisco Manuel Guizado Pérez; the company is called Herederos de Núñez Honrado, and I'm the factory manager. I've been here for about 8 or 9 years.

The robot has also been running for about 8 or 9 years and is working perfectly. We haven't had any problems: with its regular checkups and maintenance, it's running like a charm.

It’s really made a difference in production. Before, we’d load three, four, or five pallets at most, and you’d get home completely exhausted because it was all done by hand. Now we load 20 or 30 pallets, and it barely takes any effort. We can easily reach 20,000 or 30,000 kg, maybe in 4 or 5 hours. Without the robot, it’s impossible to move that much feed, and you’d end up completely exhausted.

If you want to sell more, you have to set up facilities that produce more. I think anyone who does that is doing it because they want to move forward. Why would that be scary, if you're actually reducing your workload?

The robot doesn't handle the sack as roughly: it picks it up and sets it down without banging it around so much. Since it doesn't take as many blows, the grain stays more intact, doesn't get crushed as much, and I think the quality is better.

If Manuel—may he rest in peace—were to look up now, he wouldn't believe his eyes. That man spent his whole life working hard; then his children set this up, and it's nothing like it used to be.