News
27/01/25

Tailor-made end-of-line solutions offering automation and sustainability

Founded in Modena's ceramic district in 2005, Saba Automation S.r.l. soon expanded its horizons to include all the main target markets, from food to chemicals, to paper and tissue, turning its attention to the consumer world in general. The company has long been exporting full bespoke lines worldwide, all of which are designed internally, working closely with the customer, and offer a great plus,  namely a proprietary software designed and built for end-of-line solutions. Alessandro Pollini, Sales Director at Saba Automation S.r.l., talked to us about it.

 

“If we are talking about our main area of business, which is end-of-line solutions, then the aspect we concentrate on in particular is palletisation” Mr Pollini began. “We look after the products that come out of the packaging machine, managing all the handling operations, including automatic palletisation, labelling, weighing, and everything else needed to ship the goods to the warehouse”.

 

It should be highlighted that Saba Automation handles the mechanical engineering, assembly, and software development internally, while the robotic automation is developed through relationships with leading brands in industrial robotics as an official system partner.

 

Line design is developed to customer specifications as part of a tailored turnkey service that prioritises customisation.” Mr Pollini continued, “Our USP is the dedicated software for our lines, which is designed specifically for palletising systems. Moving on, we began incorporating in-line robotics, building projects as a system integrator first for Comau and now for KUKA, with official dealer status, using anthropomorphic robots for 90% of our integration solutions.”

 

Shifting his attention to the markets, Alessandro Pollini continued by explaining how “Saba focuses primarily on food and paper. With food, we excluded clean rooms in order to devote our energies to packaging and warehouse lines featuring palletising solutions for various products, ranging from box forming machines to filling machines and end-of-line equipment. Some of our more recent projects have included lines for bread, dried fruit, and nuts, a segment in which we have worked with names like Noberasco, Melandri Gaudenzio, etc. For paper, we have partnered leading Italian and international players in the specialist construction of palletising systems for this sector, which currently makes up 50-60% of our sales.”

 

Moving from the markets to exhibiting at Ipack Ima 2025 was a short step, given the prominent role that an international fair can play.

 

“We will be showcasing our systems linked to industry 4.0/5.0, an area in which we have accrued over ten years of experience in machine integration and interfacing with the most recent ERP systems.” continued the sales director. “Saba Automation's most distinctive offering is customisation and tailor-made systems, where we move beyond standardised systems to focus on the unique needs of the customer. At the fair, a large video wall will display our most successful case histories, alongside demos of the software featured in our lines and our full automated work stations and those featuring 3-axis robots, setting us apart in the competitive landscape. We have great expectations for the international visitors we will be meeting at the fair, which -  combined with the cross-sectoral appeal of IPACK-IMA  - will help us consolidate our current segments while also accessing new opportunities with large groups, another target market for us.”

 

Finally, let's look at the new technology solutions, where innovations are oriented towards automation and sustainability, a hot topic in all sectors.

 

“We are working on palletising systems catering to certain product categories in which complete end-of-line management methods are disappearing. We are talking about plastic wrapping to guarantee full protection to products that are prone to water absorption, like paper. Emphasis on sustainability in the supply chain is driving research into new, plastic-free solutions that reduce the amount of materials and packaging used in secondary and tertiary packaging. Often now, boxes and bags are being discarded and products to be sent to the warehouse are being palletised loose, which poses various technical challenges. Industrial robotics plays a central role here, with multiple robots integrated both along the line and at the end of the line. They are all managed by our software, which enables management through a single interface and application for the operator. This solution simplifies the product pathway, optimising costs and consumption, with benefits for both sustainability and production efficiency.”

 

The conversation ended with a glimpse into the markets in the years ahead, albeit in an international context in which long-range planning is becoming increasingly challenging.

 

“Despite the fact that the tax incentives available for projects linked to Industry 4.0  are almost finished, end-of-line equipment remains a necessity due to both labour costs and the safe working conditions provided by automated solutions in this area. We offer certification and all the necessary safety features, providing solutions that support the operator and guarantee safety but also production oversight. So for us, IPACK IMA offers a showcase for both the markets where we are already well positioned and also any micro-sectors we have not yet entered.

 

The other big issue is sustainability, which - for our sector - means above all energy costs, which have a great impact in the paper/food world, with production often conditioned by electricity bills. In this context, flexibility is our strong point. Moving on to companies that already have palletising lines, these often find themselves having to manage new sustainability-related challenges, including - as mentioned earlier - reducing secondary and tertiary packaging and adopting new palletising methods. That is why our capacity for custom design allows us to cater to customers' unique needs but also to support long-standing customers in their constantly changing production needs. The advent of Industry 5.0 is, in fact, pushing us to seek increasingly sustainable solutions aimed, in particular,  at reducing consumption. This aspect can be managed and optimised through software control, as well as by utilising robotic solutions that feed the energy generated during their operation back into the system. “