Food & Beverage: Automation for a changing landscape

Simon Cooper

04 December 2020

Food & Beverage

Reading Time: 4 min.

There is no doubt that COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns had a huge impact on the food & beverage industry. Interact Analysis forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 3.6% between 2019 and 2024 for the Food & Beverage sector. This is even higher than the previous five years, where the industry experienced 3.5% growth over time.

Colman Roche is Vice President, E-Commerce/Retail, Swisslog Americas. He brings more than 20 years of supply chain and material handling industry experience to the role, having served in senior leadership roles for material handling systems suppliers as well as consulting and systems integration firms.

His vast experience includes designing machines, processes and systems and implementing ASRS, order fulfillment and manufacturing systems in retail, hospital, governmental, semi-conductor and pharmaceutical sectors.

Colman earned his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland, his MBA from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – Newark, and completed the Program for Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School.

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How the right food and beverage automation protects food safety

Food & Beverage

James Sharples

04 December 2023

Food and beverage manufacturers are increasingly turning to automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) and other forms of automation to adapt to growing demand, increase storage capacity, and alleviate labor challenges. As they do, they need to not only ensure automation delivers the capacity and efficiency they expect, but also that food safety is protected and even enhanced. In this post, we’ll cover some of the key features that enable automation systems to protect and enhance food safety across the value chain, from manufacturing through distribution to retail e-grocery fulfillment.