Cranswick automates end-of-line packaging with Rockwell robo

Cranswick has implemented Rockwell Automation's robotics to enhance efficiency in its pigs-in-blankets packaging line. The line now achieves 240 robotic picks per minute, which allows workers to engage in more skilled tasks.

This automation uses autonox Delta robots controlled by Rockwell Automation systems. This story was produced through MarketScale.

What Happened

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• The announcement, published on June 23, 2026, via PRNewswire and reported through Financial Times Markets data, marks one of the more operationally specific food-sector robotics deployments disclosed this year in the UK.

• According to a 2026 survey by IMI's Industrial Automation sector, covered by Automation Magazine, robotics tops the list of planned automation investments among UK industrial operators over the next five years, with interconnectivity cited.

• An Automation Magazine analysis published July 20, 2026 examined how flexible machine architectures must handle material variability without halting lines, a challenge that food producers running seasonal SKUs know well.

Key Details

Cranswick Plc, one of Britain's largest premium food producers, now runs its pigs-in-blankets packaging line at 240 robotic pick-and-place cycles per minute after commissioning a fully automated end-of-line system built on Rockwell Automation controls and autonox Delta robots. The line in question.

• Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 people across more than 100 countries, according to the company's fiscal year end 2025 figures.

• The next test will be whether the Cranswick line's performance data surfaces publicly after the 2026 Christmas production run concludes.

• Mergers and acquisitions in the industrial sector have reached $173 billion, showing a 28% increase.

Why It Matters

Until the new system went live, the final packaging stage relied on manual labor: workers picked sausages off a conveyor and placed them into packaging trays, a task that created bottlenecks and imposed hard limits on throughput. Cranswick engaged systems integrator CWM.

• The market is also experiencing accelerated capital expenditure in automation, forecasted to grow 6–9% annually through 2030.

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What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by MarketScale as more details emerge