Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491368
46 STiR tea & coffee industry international T By Jenny Neill he costs of implementing automation to factories, in general, have been drop- ping this decade. The sensors and control boards now on the market are priced low enough to make investing in re-engineering existing plants or building entirely new ones feasible for industrial-scale coffee suppliers. Meanwhile, European roasting equipment manufacturers have updated software to take advantage of newer technologies. All these advances mean it is now easier than ever before for roasters to create, store and reuse roasting profiles. This new availability of better human machine interfaces with more affordable hardware and communications systems combined with an improving global economy has kicked off a renaissance in factory upgrades. Starting in 2013, trade publications reported major brands all over the world were betting big on automation. Early adopt- ers include Starbucks and its partner in India, Tata Global Beverages Ltd.; Nestlé; and McDonalds' suppliers Gaviña & Sons and S&D Coffee and Tea to name just a few. Gregor Kleefeldt, chief electronic engineer and salesman for plant control systems at Neuhaus Neotec, said the company is updating approximately two to three roasting plants this year. The company lists such major brands as Kraft Foods (Maxwell House), Nestlé, Folgers (now owned by the J.M. Smucker Company) and Tchibo as clients. A number of medium-sized firms, all growing and some with international expan- sion in their sights, may not be too far behind. Blue Bottle Coffee gained two roast- ing facilities when it acquired Tonx and Handsome Coffee Company, and this spring signed a lease for yet another in Tokyo. A source at Intelligentsia, one of Blue Bottle's closest competitors on volume and quality, affirmed that if growth stays on track or increases in sales volume, the company may look to bring better automation into their roasting plant. The Automation Tipping Point The bigger the scale, the more important the engineering Ross Bright, master roaster at Spinelli Coffee Neuhaus Neotec control room staff monitor a line of roasters in a factory