Meat Processors Expedite Plans To Implement Robotics As Pandemic Increases Pressure

The future of meat manufacturing could include 3D scanners and automated cutting. Tyson, Smithfield, Cargill and JBS are all looking at ways to incorporate more automation.

In one room, a conveyor belt that has a robotic arm with machine vision cameras and blue grippers swoops down to pick up chicken and places it in a tray pack. In another, an automated mobile robot forklift rolls around guiding itself and a giant yellow robotic crane picks up packages and wraps them to be shipped.

This new-age equipment can be found in the Tyson Manufacturing Automation Center’s 26,000-square-foot facility in Springdale, Arkansas that opened more than a year ago. With masks on, engineering directors Doug Foreman and Marty Linn led Food Dive on a tour of the center through the lens of a Facetime call.

Tyson Foods is one of many meat companies ramping up its automation strategy as the pandemic has emphasized safety concerns among its workforce. 

Automating meat factories has long been a difficult feat because it is costly and carcasses come in varying sizes so it can be hard for robots to cut and work with all types accurately. But as the coronavirus ravaged meat plants, forcing many to temporarily shutter as thousands of workers got sick, more companies accelerated their plans for automation.

The pandemic has increased the pressure on Tyson's automation team, its top engineers said. 

"The sense of urgency is higher… I think it's been known for some time that Tyson needed to have a way to enter into doing more and more automation, specifically robotic automation. But yes, like everybody else, the pandemic kind of opened up everybody's eyes,” Linn said. 

Despite the challenges, Tyson, Smithfield, Cargill and JBS are all looking into ways to incorporate more automation as they modernize their plants. Food Dive took tours, interviewed companies and spoke to experts about where these meat companies stand in that process and what a more robotic meat plant future could look like in the U.S.