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CASE STUDY | FOOD & BEVERAGE
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Real Pet Food Cuts Downtime with EtherNet/IP Upgrade

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This image shows a person interacting with a small white dog, similar to a Shih Tzu.
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Real Pet Food Company is an Australian manufacturer of premium pet food brands including Nature’s Gift, Farmers Market, Ivory Coat, and V.I.P. Supplying major retailers across Australia, RPF focuses on quality nutrition, innovation, and operational excellence in pet food production.

Challenge
  • Legacy PLC (1990s-era) controlling chiller auxiliary systems (fans, lighting, pumps)
  • High risk and complexity in maintaining and rewiring outdated electrical panels
  • Long downtime required for traditional hard-wired upgrades (2–3 days)
  • Limited system visibility, making predictive maintenance difficult
  • Labour-intensive testing, commissioning, and fault finding processes
  • Need to modernise infrastructure in-house without impacting product quality
Solution
  • EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution
Result
  • Installation completed in 8–9 hours vs 2–3 days previously
  • Up to 10–20x faster installation process
  • Reduced downtime and minimal disruption to chiller operation
  • Lower wiring complexity reduced installation and commissioning risk
  • Improved diagnostics enabled predictive maintenance and faster fault resolution
  • Greater system visibility via network-based monitoring
  • Reduced fire risk and improved operational safety
  • Easier testing — no need to individually trace and test every wire
  • Plug-and-play expandability for future upgrades
  • Lower long-term maintenance and support costs
  • More scalable, future-ready infrastructure for ongoing operations

Challenge

Real Pet Food Company, a leading Australian pet food manufacturer producing brands such as Nature’s Gift, Farmers Market, Ivory Coat, and V.I.P, faced growing challenges with an ageing electrical infrastructure.

Key issues included:

  • An obsolete programmable logic controller (dating from the 1990s) managing a chiller system supporting auxiliary functions such as fans, lighting, and pumps
  • Increasing risk and complexity associated with maintaining and rewiring legacy electrical panels
  • Long installation downtime requirements that impacted production continuity
  • Labour-intensive hard-wired systems that made testing, commissioning, and fault finding difficult
  • Limited visibility of system performance, restricting predictive maintenance and proactive diagnostics
  • The need to modernise infrastructure in-house while minimising operational disruption 

Solution

To address these challenges, Real Pet Food Company implemented Rockwell Automation’s Single Pair EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution as part of an electrical panel modernisation project.

The solution enabled:

  • Replacement and modernisation of legacy PLC infrastructure within the chiller control panel
  • A shift away from traditional hard-wiring to ribbon cable and network-based connectivity
  • Integration of devices into a unified EtherNet/IP network for improved communication and visibility
  • Reallocation of auxiliary functions (lighting and fan control) to a separate PLC, reducing system complexity and risk 
Real Pet Food Terminals After

Key technical advantages:

  • Up to 80% reduction in wiring requirements compared to traditional installations
  • Streamlined cabinet design with improved space utilisation
  • Faster, simpler installation and commissioning processes
  • Built-in diagnostics and real-time data access for improved system insight 

“The EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution streamlines communications between devices within the panel, making system integration simpler, boosting real-time data access, and helping manufacturers make faster, more informed decisions,” 

Adrian Giecco - Regional Vice President, South Pacific, Rockwell Automation

Result

The deployment delivered significant operational, maintenance, and risk-reduction benefits for Real Pet Food Company.

Faster installation and reduced downtime

  • Installation completed in approximately eight to nine hours, compared to two to three days using traditional wiring methods
  • Up to 10–20x faster installation due to reduced manual wiring requirements
  • Minimal production disruption, enabled by controlled shutdown windows for the chiller system

“Moving away from hard wiring and utilising ribbon cables means the downtime was minimal while Rockwell upgraded the electrical panel. It’s around 10–20 times faster than if all wires had to be upgraded, while also reducing panel space requirements,” said Jack Walsh, electrical reliability engineer, Real Pet Food Company.

Reduced risk and improved reliability

  • Reduced wiring complexity significantly lowered installation and commissioning risk
  • Simplified system architecture improved testing efficiency
  • Separation of auxiliary systems reduced operational risk to critical chiller functions

“Additionally, removing so many wires derisks the process, and simplifies testing and commissioning. It’s now possible to view the whole system at once, because you’re connected to the network, so there’s no need to painstakingly test every wire,” said Walsh.

Improved visibility and maintenance capability

  • Real-time data access supports predictive maintenance strategies
  • On-board diagnostics enable early detection of potential issues
  • Improved troubleshooting capability reduces reliance on reactive maintenance approaches 

“The new Single Pair EtherNet/IP In-cabinet Solution gives us greater visibility and real-time data, which we can use for predictive maintenance, diagnostics, and troubleshooting, all of which contribute to reductions in downtime,” said Walsh. 

“With older technology, it was often a matter of waiting until something failed, and then going to fix it. With Rockwell’s solution, we can use on-board diagnostics and solve issues ahead of time, which not only helps with uptime, but also reduces fire risk.”

Greater flexibility and future readiness

  • Plug-and-play expandability supports future upgrades and system changes
  • Easier integration of new modules without major redesign or reprogramming
  • Improved data extraction for critical assets such as pumps and fans
  • More scalable, modern architecture for ongoing operational needs

“Adding new modules is an easy plug-and-play retrofit. I’ve been working in PLC refurbishments for seven years now and have been looking for this type of solution for a long time,” said Walsh.

“The in-cabinet solution saved us costs, reduced downtime, and provided better ongoing functionality, so the value proposition was clear.”

Published June 19, 2026

Topics: Optimize Production Networks & Infrastructure Food & Beverage Ethernet IP In-cabinet Solution
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