JEDDAH —

Tetra Pak, the world leader in food and beverages packaging and processing solutions, has undergone its own digital transformation over the past few years and is now working with its customers to help them navigate the complex systems and technology and create new opportunities as digitalization transforms the industry.

In an interview, Niels Hougaard, MD Tetra Pak Arabia Area, said the company is playing a crucial role in protecting manufacturers from errors which could jeopardize food safety and, ultimately, the relationship with the end consumer “whether it’s leveraging global data from thousands of lines, connecting our field force with equipment or giving them faster direct access to our expertise.”

He noted that at Tetra Pak “we expect this trend to continue and will be working to develop and introduce solutions and tools that support our customers in the management of food safety and contribute to improved overall production performance.”

Commenting on its participation in the recent KSA Manufacturing Tech Show, he said the event was an opportunity to connect with manufacturing leaders in Saudi Arabia and showcase how they can embrace digital technology and gain an understanding of the full opportunities available, and the sorts of investments they might need to make if they are to seize them. It also looks at what best practice looks like, and how businesses can decipher some of the more technical aspects of the concepts involved.

“Our efforts have clearly shifted from proof-of-concepts and pilots to manufacturers realizing true value. In this event, we showed some examples of how Saudi manufacturers can adopt these smart technologies to achieve manufacturing excellence and realize the country’s Vision 2030 on this front.”

Having been in the Saudi market for almost 40 years now, and playing a proactive role in growing the food and beverages industry, Tetra Pak’s presentation at the event focused on Industry 4.0, which is all about smart manufacturing. “A fully-integrated collaborative systems that respond in real time to meet changing demands and conditions in the factory. It is the next decisive leap in industrial history, where automation combines with IT networks and systems, enriched through live and constantly-available data and analytics, drives operations more efficiently and effectively.”

Tetra Pak is working with our customers and technology partners to embrace digital transformation. Some of the things that we’re working are on automated quality control, augmented reality remote support and predictive maintenance, he added.

Moreover, Hougaard explained that Tetra Pak is seeing benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness and more diversified job opportunity, both for themselves and for their customers.

“We are seeing great benefits to our business as well as in supporting our customers through their journey. They include improved productivity by data-driven insights, and improved quality assurance using greater automation through IT and robotics. Embracing Industry 4.0 has led to increased productivity, reduced costs and delivered increased profitability for businesses. Internally, it also has provided the opportunity for continued progression and upskilling, creating new jobs for Saudi youth.”

He asserts that digital transformation at the center of Tetra Pak’s strategy.

“We are transforming our business through the use of latest digital technologies focusing on improving the ability to predict machine errors, accelerating response times, and giving the customer faster, direct access to Tetra Pak’s global expertise,” Hougaard further said.

“At the core of everything we do at Tetra Pak is our vision to make food safe and available everywhere. The Tetra Pak digital strategy and digitalization tools are making a difference to our customers’ daily operations,” he pointed out. — SG