BUILDING PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING
Three palletizing cells across three plants, on one template
26% → 11%
ENGINEERING SHARE
3 → 2
INTEGRATORS ENGAGED
0
INSTALL-DAY SURPRISES
14 weeks
FULL ROLLOUT
Challenge
A building-products manufacturer wanted end-of-line palletizing at three plants in two states. Every previous attempt had been quoted as three unrelated projects by three integrators, each carrying full custom engineering. Engineering alone represented roughly a quarter of each quoted cell.
Approach
The first cell was specified, sourced, and built as a template rather than a one-off: the bill of materials, engineering-hour baseline, and safety scope were captured as reusable assets, deliberately not bound to any single robot manufacturer. Plants two and three were configured as deltas against that template (differing in bag dimensions, pallet pattern, and available floor clearance) so integrators quoted the variance instead of re-quoting the cell. Site readiness for all three locations was verified in parallel: floor load, electrical service, compressed air, delivery access, and staging space, each with a named responsible party.
Outcome
- Engineering fell from 26% of cell cost on plant one to 11% on plants two and three
- All three cells sourced through two integrators rather than three, at improved pricing on committed volume
- Zero install-day readiness surprises across three sites
- Rollout completed in 14 weeks; the same scope had been quoted at 9 months
“The second plant was not a new project. It was a change order against something that already worked.”
VP Operations