Inside Cascade Espresso’s playbook for sustainable, scalable automation

While you stroll into Cascade Espresso’s facility north of Seattle, you instantly sense two issues: the unmistakable scent of freshly roasted beans, and a group that’s genuinely happy with the work they do.

That second half didn’t occur accidentally.

It’s the results of a daring determination Cascade made about 4 years in the past: exchange one of the painful, turnover-heavy, inconsistent handbook jobs within the manufacturing unit with collaborative robots. What began as a single low-risk experiment snowballed into a scientific, company-wide transformation touching productiveness, individuals, and tradition.

I not too long ago sat down with Cascade’s COO, Ron Kane, to retrace that journey. Ron’s spent greater than 30 years in meals and beverage—Nestlé Waters, Monster Vitality, craft beer—so he’s seen each taste of automation challenge, from the profitable to the painful. His perspective is extraordinarily grounded in what producers reside daily.

Right here’s Cascade’s story, and the teachings any meals and bev manufacturing unit can apply.

When development meets actuality

In 2020, Cascade shifted from serving one main buyer (80% of their quantity) to supporting a broad portfolio of manufacturers, particularly progressive ecommerce gamers. It unlocked development, however elevated complexity in a single day.

The issue? Practically all the pieces downstream was nonetheless handbook.

• Operators have been hand-stacking dozens of pallet configurations
• Turnover on the palletizing function was over 60%
  
• New hires have been educated nearly weekly on intricate customer-specific patterns
• High quality errors—like misaligned labels on shipments—have been eroding buyer satisfaction

And culturally, no person needed the palletizing job. It was bodily demanding, low selection, and irritating.

“It didn’t present worth for us as a manufacturing unit. It wanted to be performed, nevertheless it actually ought to have been automated if there was a option to do it.”
– Ron Kane, COO

The problem was the identical one many mid-sized producers face: conventional palletizers have been too large, too costly, and too advanced for his or her footprint.

The primary leap: A sensible, low-risk check

When Cascade bought a brand new high-volume Okay-Cup line, Ron noticed a possibility: in the event that they have been upgrading processing and packaging, why cease there?

He evaluated the complete image: labor, ergonomics, turnover, uptime, and buyer necessities and proposed trialing a cobot palletizer. The preliminary ROI estimate was slightly below two years, already stable.

What occurred subsequent stunned everybody.

Their native companion, Olympus Controls, rolled the system into place. Inside hours, it was bolted down. By the subsequent afternoon, it was palletizing reside manufacturing.

No cages. No advanced programming. No weeks of commissioning.

Operators discovered the interface in minutes. The security habits instantly earned their belief. And the cultural shift occurred quicker than anticipated: the group named the robotic, embellished it for holidays, and handled it as a further coworker.

“We put in the robotic, didn’t lose any headcount, and it turned a part of the persona of the manufacturing unit.”

9 months to payback, not two years

When the primary audit was full, the numbers got here in…

Precise ROI: 9 months.

Why the dramatic distinction?

• Larger uptime than anticipated
• Constant throughput, even throughout variable quantity
• No unplanned labor protection for downtime
• Fewer high quality points
  
• Rising quantity on the road

In three years, Ron can rely on one hand the variety of days any palletizer has been down. And people uncommon points? Often from packaging anomalies, not the robotic.

That reliability turned the explanation Cascade may scale confidently.

Scaling systematically: From one to 6 (and counting!)

As soon as the primary cell proved itself, Cascade replicated the method throughout each retail bag line within the manufacturing unit.

As a result of their mechanics and engineers already understood the interface, subsequent installations turned almost plug-and-play:

• Nonetheless delivered in crates
• Nonetheless bolted down in hours
• Nonetheless operational the subsequent day
• Nonetheless simple to troubleshoot independently

One line went from crate arrival to working manufacturing by the tip of the primary shift.

And their group began collaborating with our engineers on efficiency upgrades—like early adoption of dual-case selecting to spice up throughput with out growing velocity.

The outcome was: a standardized, repeatable palletizing technique throughout your complete web site.

Actual enterprise affect: Tens of millions saved, individuals lifted up

Cascade Espresso invested slightly below seven figures throughout all techniques.

They’ve already recouped a number of thousands and thousands in labor effectivity.

However the half Ron speaks about with essentially the most delight isn’t the monetary return; it’s the individuals.

The staff who as soon as rotated by means of the toughest job within the plant are nonetheless there. Many have moved as much as higher-skill roles.

“They’re constructing careers, not simply doing jobs. They’re incomes extra for his or her households. They’re extra assured working greater tools as a result of they discovered on the cobot first.”

Automation didn’t cut back headcount. It really created new alternative.

And it was an important match culturally as effectively. The robots have names, vacation outfits, and recurring appearances on Cascade’s LinkedIn web page. They’ve change into a part of the group!

Classes for producers contemplating automation

Listed here are the takeaways Ron would give anybody simply beginning their automation journey:

1. Your actual ROI will probably be higher than your spreadsheet.

Producers usually underestimate the impact of constant throughput and overestimate downtime threat.

2. Begin the place the ache is highest and the labor is hardest to retain.

Palletizing jobs burn individuals out rapidly. Fixing that ache advantages the entire operation.

3. Tradition issues as a lot as know-how.

Talk clearly that automation removes undesirable duties—not individuals.

4. Standardize early.

As soon as one cell is working effectively, you may replicate it effectively throughout related strains.

5. A robust native companion makes all of the distinction.

Olympus Controls helped Cascade deploy quick and adapt rapidly, at the same time as wants modified.

What this story actually reveals

Automation doesn’t should be costly, dangerous, or disruptive. When performed systematically (and with individuals in thoughts) it turns into a catalyst for higher work, higher throughput, and higher enterprise.

Cascade Espresso went from handbook palletizing with excessive turnover to a completely automated, extremely engaged group that’s assured, rising, and able to tackle extra.

Their journey is strictly why we consider in Lean Robotics: begin small, scale quick, and construct functionality by means of each section: design, combine, function.

Ron mentioned it finest:

“You gave us the primary steps. We wouldn’t be pursuing automation this aggressively with out that early success.”

And that’s the type of affect we wish each producer to expertise.

If you wish to see whether or not palletizing automation is sensible in your facility, begin with the Palletizing Match Software — a fast, interactive option to see if Lean Palletizing is the appropriate match in your line.

Need extra tales from actual factories like yours?

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