New engineers for Pacepacker’s Technical Department
Pacepacker Services has expanded its Technical Department to support the growing demand for robotics within the food, bulk solids and aggregate industries. The move comes hot on the heels of the company’s 20+ new pick and place robot option launch at Foodex 2014. The appointment of two new engineers increases Pacepacker’s engineering manpower and further solidifies their reputation as an award-winning automation and robotic system integrator.
Mechanical Design Engineer Andrew Westrop and Electrical Engineer Lee Moss joined the team just over a month ago. The timing couldn’t have been better for Pacepacker, who is experiencing strong demand for automation, most notably from the food industry. “We are delighted to have a strong team of engineers making up our new Technical Department,” comments Dennis Allison, Managing Director of Pacepacker Services. “These two new roles are long overdue and are much needed, as we are experiencing a significant increase in robot and automation orders, with more and more customers requiring new and more bespoke pick and place and packing solutions.”
As well as designing and manufacturing packing machinery in-house Pacepacker works closely with two of the leading robot and mechatronic manufacturers, FANUC and Festo. The Pacepacker team, which has won eight industry awards in the last 24 months for its innovative approach to automation, recently launched a new pick and place robot portfolio at Foodex incorporating the widest range of Cartesian, articulated arm and delta-style robots on the market. Dennis believes that having this highly-skilled new Technical Department reaffirms Pacepacker’s commitment to efficiency and product quality and integrity.
Heading up the new team is Pacepacker veteran and Technical Director, Richard Gladwin. Richard now manages Greg Barrett, Pacepacker’s Project Engineer who has been with the company for sevenyears, as well as the newest additions Andrew and Lee.
Both Andrew and Lee are no strangers to the food sector. Previous to joining Pacepacker, Andrew worked predominantly with labelling and checkweighing systems. “Since becoming Mechanical Design Engineer at Pacepacker I have already worked on large scale systems for specific customer projects,” comments Andrew. “My design skills are already being tested on new machinery concepts. It’s exciting to be part of such an innovative engineering team and I am looking forward to sharing my expertise and working with Pacepacker’s clients to address specific automation challenges. When people talk about robots, it’s often the body that people are drawn towards. For me personally, it’s the end-effectors – the hands – where the real action happens. Pacepacker has the widest portfolio of end effectors on the market and I believe that there is plenty more scope to advance how robotic machinery handles products.”
Likewise, Lee has extensive experience of the food processing industry, having spent over 12 yearsworking on electrical control systems for use on special purpose machinery. The majority of Lee’s career to date has been at Herbert Industrial, which manufactures and designs weighing and labelling equipment. “I am looking forward to the varied challenges ahead and playing my part in such a dynamic team and supporting the company’s continued success,” comments Lee. Currently involved in the design of new control system for an existing customer project, a key focus for Lee going forward will be the electrical design and programming of Pacepacker’s bagging and robotic systems range.
Dennis concludes: “Adoption of automation, particularly within the food industry, is accelerating generally. This is especially true within pick and place, which can now be extended to difficult, problematic areas and product lines that previously were not always deemed a viable investment. Both Andrew and Lee’s appointments are crucial to our continuing success within this field and we welcome their expertise.”
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