It hadn’t been done before.
At least, not well.
And certainly not at scale.
That’s what Reddy Ice, a large ice manufacturer, said when they came to us in the mid-2000s. As a company that values consistency, they were struggling with their palletizing process. Across their network of plants, a handful had older, slower ice palletizers from another supplier. But most locations were still palletizing by hand.
They said they needed a durable, fast and reliable robotic ice palletizer.
We said challenge accepted, and we’ve continued to accept every other challenge Reddy Ice has thrown our way. What can we say? We don’t like saying no to customers.
From a slippery situation to a speedy system
Ice is a difficult product. That’s partially why robotic ice palletizers weren’t common at the time. And still aren’t made by a ton of companies now.
As everyone knows, the moment ice leaves the freezer, it starts to melt. It’s annoying as you enjoy your sweet tea. It’s a problem on a manufacturing floor. Water and damp air corrodes equipment. Wet plastic bags turn into mushy messes that jam up equipment. As ice melts, it gets slipperier, and the bags lose their shape. There’s nothing straightforward about it.
Reddy Ice needed a system built with speed, consistency, and durability in mind.
We already worked with other customers who operated in caustic environments (like battery acid plants and salt facilities), so we already knew how to keep equipment from rusting or corroding. Just like we knew our ultra-precise programming would ensure the palletizer stacked the ice bags neatly and consistently.
But to achieve a higher speed, we’d need to design something new. That turned out to be a high-level robotic palletizer with a rotary infeed design. While it would require a larger footprint, it would also increase Reddy Ice’s palletizing speed by 50% in some plants, and much more in others.
With systems like these, the infeed and the robot sit at the top, while the pallet rests on an elevator that steadily descends with each layer of ice. This means that the robot picking and placing three bags at a time stays stationary. Between that, and the rotary bag turner, Reddy Ice could palletize 60 bags per minute.
A low-level system saves space in small footprints
Backed by speed and an ever-growing demand for ice, Reddy Ice continued to grow by acquiring other facilities. And each plant they incorporated into their network came with its own unique set of quirks and challenges.
As we mentioned earlier, high-level palletizers fill a large footprint. Some of the new facilities didn’t have the space for something so big.
Additionally, some of these facilities had trouble finding and retaining labor. And constantly training new employees, who didn’t always speak English, how to use a mechanically complex high-level palletizer wasn’t working.
So, we designed them a new low-level palletizer. Yes, it’s slower (for now). But it fits in small facilities and is easier to operate.
Problem solving with flexible engineering, not new equipment
In the last year or so, Reddy Ice approached us with a new challenge: Around 25 of their palletizers, which were built to handle 10-pound bags, now needed to accommodate 7-pound bags.
Their team joked it was like “putting a $5 bill into a nickel slot.” But they weren’t wrong — the difficult part was physically fitting smaller bags into the same square footage of the pallet. Something we knew we could do with the help of flexible engineering and intentional reprogramming, not new equipment.
We designed and tested several stacking patterns to puzzle out the one that worked best. In the end, we reprogrammed the logic on all the palletizers from 15 drops per layer of the 10-pound bags, to 18 drops per layer of the 7-pounders.
Palletize your ice with ease
Together, all of this innovation has brought us to today, where we can design and manufacture an ice palletizer to fit your specs. No matter what they are.
High-level for increased speed
Low-level to fit a smaller footprint
Custom end-of-arm tooling that accommodates any bag size
An intuitive HMI that any operator can use, regardless of background
Durable materials that can withstand getting hit by a forklift
We’re even developing end-of-arm tooling that can pick half a layer at once, instead of three bags — with just two picks, you’d have a whole layer. Once this technology is ready, it will increase the speed and efficiency of your operation.
Let us be part of your growth story
We’re proud that our partnership with Reddy Ice enables innovation and gives them a competitive advantage. If you have a challenge, get in touch with our team and we’ll help you find a solution.
When it comes down to it, we pride ourselves on being a responsive, flexible partner for our customers. If you have a challenge, we will find a solution — even if we have to invent something new.