Learn about automation and how to get started with our articles, videos, customer stories, whitepapers, and more.
At ATX West in Anaheim, California, last week, the Formic team met with attendees to discuss how end-of-line production automation is closing labor gaps and boosting productivity for U.S. manufacturers. As consumer demand increases, automation adoption is growing, but not every business has a big CapEx budget or the internal expertise to deploy and maintain these solutions. If you stopped...
Read MoreThis year, a record number of CPG companies will invest in production automation. The reasons for these investments have persisted over the years and continue into 2025: challenges with labor shortages, a prioritization of employee safety, a tight focus on production efficiency, and a need to lower factory costs. In fact, Deloitte’s Digital Maturity Index survey found that 98% of...
Read MoreCHICAGO—February 5, 2025—Formic, a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) automation provider for U.S. manufacturers, deployed five gantry-style palletizing robots at Land O’Frost’s Lansing, Illinois, manufacturing facility, saving them 20% on labor-related OpEx daily and transitioning employees from manually stacking boxes onto pallets to being robot operators. Formic’s Full Service Palletizer Rental program optimized end-of-line production, increasing safety and production while bolstering employee skills...
Read MoreA bright orange industrial robot stacks boxes 100” high at 10 cycles per minute. Nearby, a virtual reality tool seamlessly maps out an automation system on the warehouse floor, while a sleek cobot arm precisely palletizes boxes amid lively conversations. CPG industry leaders from across Chicagoland watch and listen closely, discovering how effortlessly automation can be deployed to tackle productivity,...
Read MoreAs the U.S. manufacturing industry continues to grow, it’s evolving to keep up with demands for quicker turnaround times, better pricing, and quality maintenance. However, ongoing labor challenges continue to be an obstacle to advancement. While Formic’s “2024 State of U.S. Manufacturing Report” found that hiring more people was a top priority for manufacturing companies last year, manufacturers will still...
Read MoreThe first thing you notice when you enter the Land O’Frost facility in Lansing, Illinois, is the pace of the operation. There are forklift trucks buzzing from station to station, pallets being stretched wrapped, and workers packing case after case of deli meats and hot dogs. After all, you don’t pack and ship 128,000 pounds of meat daily by moving...
Read MoreCHICAGO—January 7, 2025—Formic, a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) automation provider for U.S. manufacturers, announced that the company surpassed 200,000 production hours, that means Formic is delivering the equivalent of 5 months of human labor every single business day with its fleet of robotic automation equipment. To celebrate, the company is hosting its first Formic Automation Community event on January 23, 2025, at...
Read MoreThe holiday shopping season used to be more predictable. On Black Friday, consumers headed to malls and department stores to wait in line for the sweetest deals on items like electronics, toys, and clothes. But with the rise of e-commerce and consumers expecting quicker delivery times, the holiday shopping season starts earlier every year and new demands continue to arise. ...
Read MoreCHICAGO—December 12, 2024—Formic, a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) automation provider for U.S. manufacturers, officially announced the addition of Joel Onyshuk as its Vice President of Sales and Todd Plotner as the company’s first General Counsel. Following continued business growth and an additional Series A financing round of $27.4 million in June, Onyshuk and Plotner's collective industry experience supports the company’s goal to...
Read MoreRobots are everywhere. Tesla is touting its humanoid robot coined Optimus, Chipotle has deployed Chippy to make tortilla chips, and startup Perceptive completed its first fully automated dental procedure using an AI-powered robot this year. These are just a few examples of companies using robotic automation to boost productivity. As robots become increasingly commonplace across industry, many believe automation eliminates...
Read More
