Born during the Great Depression and popcorn becomes the cheapest snack in the United States Wyandot snack I started as a humble popcorn company in Marion, Ohio. Decades later, they produced more than 25% of the world’s popcorn and even created a Frito-Lay cracker jack. Today, Wyandot continues to grow from local popcorn producers to co -manufacturers for the fastest growing snack brand in the United States.
Businesses are always proud of rejecting identity. Wyandot has invested in new technologies to continue to adapt to the current state, to expand its products, to focus on evolving customer demands, and to maintain competitiveness in fast -moving industries. Through evolution as a business, they recorded growth from regions to business. Wyandot Popcorn MuseumCreate a visual expression of progress.
And the driving force continues. Since 1936, Wyandot has seen the next opportunity to optimize in order to increase demand and maintain speed.
Through automation, Wyandot can be said to customers more often “yes”
Today, Wyandot specializes in various extrusions and baked snacks, from serials and chips to popcorn. But to create these various mixes, there is a problem of operating. Frequently, SKU changes, a variety of run size and customer timeline are getting more and more tie.
This production pressure is much more urgent for the addition of new customers, and Wyandot must produce millions of additional products. Jaap Langenberg, CEO of Wyandot, has already found an essential question as the labor gap already affects production. How should we set all these products with the labor we have?
Langenberg emphasized that manual palletizing automation is important not only to increase productivity and ending labor gaps but also to care for employees to provide better services to high -capacity customers who require precision and agility.
Langenberg said, “The snack industry is moving faster and more specialized.” Our investment in automation is to meet these demands without damaging the company’s value for almost 90 years, such as quality, safety, community and employee welfare. ”
The production line staff is having a tension
Manual Palething is one of the most physically demanding tasks on the production line, often caused by repeated bending, lifting and twisting. This was the main factor in the decision that Wyandot decided to invest in automated paletting to liberate employees from very difficult tasks and to switch to more value -added roles.
Lori Roberts, a senior project manager of Wyandot, said, “We do not automate to eliminate workers.” The goal is to remove the most physically required tasks so that our team can focus on advanced work that requires judgment, creativity and supervision. ”
Employees who have previously assigned a manual packaging and lifting role are trained to operate and maintain a new system instead. Wyandot also starts an automation certification program that provides practice education and creates a path for workers to grow into supervision or technical role.
Employees are excited. Roberts said, “People want to feel as if they are growing.” Automation provides a new path to do it in the company. “
When automation does not proceed as planned: The reason why Wyandot chose the entire service model
The automated Palething is not the first to advance to the automation of Wyandot. About five years ago, the company invested in Case Packers for Packers to start switching. The project helped the team get used to automation, understands the impact on the line, and helps to better manage increasing productive demands. The most important thing is to help clarify what is truly necessary in automation: flexibility to support the growing customer base.
It meant looking for the right partner and they Full service automation of formic model. Instead of purchasing equipment through the formic model, Wyandot can provide continuous technology and maintenance support while quickly implementing the system without prior capital investment. In addition, Wyandot manages formic swaps equipment and relocation as businesses are needed, naturally changing and growing for the past 90 years.
“Like a partner form Langenberg can focus on what we do best by handling installation, maintenance and equipment exchanges: making a great snack. ”Langenberg said.
The data collected from these automated systems also lay the foundation for smarter and sustainable operation. With real -time visibility on energy use, production bottlenecks, and scheduling efficiency, Wyandot can optimize long -term plans for the entire supply chain as customers’ expectations for transparency and carbon footprints increase.
For mid -sized manufacturers, such as Wyandot, where all investments must be balanced in size, full service automation has been proven to be the right fit.
Going forward: Wyandot hasn’t ended innovation.
Wyandot is already looking for the future by planning to distribute a new automated case packer. The company’s leadership believes that today’s work is laying the foundation for future growth for decades.
Langenberg said, “Automation is not to replace our legacy.” It is to build it. We are taking everything that provides Wyandot, our people, our culture, our devotion to quality, and the tools that can thrive in a new era. “
It is clear as Wyandot enters the next chapter. Automation helps to catch the production of Marion’s factory constantly evolving.
Like Wyandot, build a legacy. Find out how full service automation of formic can help you to keep your team growth, operating scale and your customers happy. here.
