How Automation in the Food and Beverage Industry Increased Safety and Efficiency


On today’s episode of Conveying Progress, a Benda Manufacturing Podcast, our guests helped us explore how automated robotics and systems support operations in the food and beverage supply chain.

Coming off a year of challenges accelerated by COVID, including those surrounding worker safety, food safety, supply shortages and more, food processing and packaging plants are seeing benefits from automation, easing the weight of some of these challenges by helping manage people, processes and machinery with more efficiency and care.

Giving insights on this episode are guests from Benda and our strategic partner, Advanced Equipment Company. From Benda, Mark Battista, Sales Manager and Jose Martinez, Territory Manager joined the conversation, as did AEC’s Brian Hester, Material Handling Specialist, and Charlie Williams, Material Handling Specialist.

The industry is diving headfirst into automation. At a high level, both BMI and AEC create innovative automation solutions for a variety of industries. However, the core one we’re exploring today is food and beverage and its supply chain. Both companies are also shifting to automation at scale on the industry’s food packaging and processing side.

“As we see in the food and beverage industry, there are a lot of people handling your food, and they’re all on top of each other … and automation is key to keeping everyone safe and healthy,” Battista said regarding one of the reasons why automation is being pushed in the food industry. COVID-19 also pushed the industry’s hand when having to socially distance workers.

With the push toward automation, high-quality equipment is more important than ever. AEC uses BMI for its stainless-steel food grade and sanitation-type conveyor systems. Williamson gave an example of how using a conveyor in a sausage manufacturing setting. The company was able to consolidate functions and have two people do the work of six.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

DXpedition
Icom Powers 3Y0K : Ham Radio’s Most Ambitious DXpedition to Remote Bouvet Island Part 1
July 11, 2025

Bouvet Island sits at the edge of the world. It is frozen, uninhabited, and almost impossible to access. Fewer people have set foot there than in space. That level of remoteness is exactly what makes it so valuable to amateur radio operators. The island ranks tenth on ClubLog’s list of Most Wanted DXCC entities,…

Read More
entrepreneurial success
The Hidden Key to Entrepreneurial Success: Build Momentum Through Personal Branding and Authentic Networking
July 10, 2025

What if the biggest pivot of your career started with a conversation?  In this episode of Professional Quotient, host Jason Winningham welcomes Fanny Dunagan, CEO and Content Strategist of PathLynks, LLC. Fanny shares her journey from high-pressure consulting in Singapore to founding her own media and branding company — and why learning to network…

Read More
Q2 2025
RM Q2 2025 Wrap Up
July 9, 2025

Rogue Marketing continues to lead with intention in a space often driven by noise. Q2 2025 reflected a strategic focus on substance, where each initiative supported long-term brand growth. The team transformed internal recognition efforts into enduring brand assets and refined event strategies through immersive, results-driven experiences. Website launches during the quarter balanced visual…

Read More
amateur radios
Hamvention Spotlight: Emergency Preparedness Led PrepHam Paul to Amateur Radios and a Rising Voice in the Field
July 9, 2025

PrepHam Paul (K5VLP) celebrated his first visit to Dayton Hamvention by marking a major channel milestone. He hosted a giveaway of the  IC-2370B mobile radio from Icom to thank viewers for helping him reach 10,000 subscribers. His passion for emergency preparedness, rooted in his experience as an Eagle Scout and later studies in emergency management,…

Read More