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Salas O’Brien is an employee‑owned engineering and technical consulting firm operating from locations across North America. Serving both government and private‑sector clients, the firm provides a full range of services, from quick‑turn projects to highly complex systems, focused on delivering quality solutions that create long‑term value.
- A large Wisconsin cheese manufacturer wanted to eliminate cardboard packaging
- Tooling and ancillary equipment could not damage wrapped cheese
- Robots needed to accommodate changing cheese block sizes
- Work had to be completed around the plant’s day‑to‑day production schedule
- The solution needed to fit within the existing footprint
- Complete removal of cardboard from the production process
- 8500 lbs of cardboard saved a day
- 200 lbs of cheese waste reduced daily through innovative modernization
- Increased sustainability at the cheese manufacturer and downstream
Salas O’Brien, an EPC and system integrator partner with Rockwell Automation, was approached by a large Wisconsin cheese manufacturer with two primary goals: modernize its facility and improve sustainability by reducing cardboard used to package and ship cheese. Achieving that meant delivering a fully new robotic, turnkey solution—without disrupting production and within the facility’s existing space.
Challenge
Sustainability in Cheese Packaging
A large Wisconsin cheese manufacturer approached Salas O’Brien, a Rockwell Automation EPC and system integrator partner, with a unique project: rethinking how large blocks of cheese were packaged and shipped to reduce reliance on cardboard boxes.
Cardboard presented challenges on multiple fronts. It required significant storage space on site, and downstream customers were left with additional waste to dispose of. While eliminating cardboard was an important sustainability step, doing so introduced new complexity. As cheese cools, block dimensions can change—making it difficult for robotic grippers to securely handle wrapped product without compromising seal integrity or damaging the cheese.
At the same time, the plant needed to maintain normal operations throughout the upgrade. New conveyors, robotic arms, storage systems, and pallets all had to be installed within the existing layout—without interrupting production.
Solution
Keeping the Cheese Moving
To address the project’s complexity, Salas O’Brien engineers broke the work into manageable phases, using RoboGuide simulation software to plan equipment placement, sequencing, and installation timing. This approach allowed upgrades to be implemented efficiently, often on Sundays when the facility was closed, minimizing disruption to daily operations.
The new process required individual cheese blocks to move through the system in trays, from the cooler through palletizing. Salas O’Brien designed a new conveyor system and implemented robotic arms capable of handling pre‑wrapped cheese blocks without damaging the plastic or the product itself.
Working closely with both the cheese manufacturer and Rockwell Automation, Salas O’Brien was able to develop a solution that included:
- Palletizer and restack system
- Tray loading and offloading system
- Block labeling system
- Line controls
An added benefit of the solution was the unified control architecture. Robotic control was embedded directly into the same controllers used for the broader process automation, allowing motion, safety, and line control to be managed within a single system. This eliminated the need to program robotic control separately, simplifying development and troubleshooting while supporting faster commissioning and a more streamlined operational model.
Salas O’Brien selected Rockwell Automation components for ease of integration and speed to commission. The team leveraged standard templates for PowerFlex® 525 drives, Kinetix® servo systems, and POINT Guard I/O™ cards to accelerate commissioning and simplify plant troubleshooting. Standard safety code within the GuardLogix® controller helped streamline the programming of safety functions and custom robotic zones.
“Using Rockwell components let us spend our engineering effort on the application—not on getting the hardware to work,” said Ryan Thiem, principal engineer at Salas O’Brien. “We needed the system to be online and always running. Our team’s experience across industries helped us develop creative solutions that worked within the constraints of the job.”
Result
Dramatic Reduction in Cardboard Usage
The solution met and exceeded the manufacturer’s objectives. By completely removing cardboard from the production process, the facility now saves approximately 8,500 pounds of cardboard per day, reducing costs and freeing up storage space. Downstream, customers no longer need to dispose of bulky cardboard packaging.
The improvements also reduced waste. More precise robotic handling decreased product damage, cutting cheese waste by approximately 200 pounds per day. The result was a strong return on investment—delivering cost savings and sustainability gains without any production downtime during implementation.
Published April 20, 2026