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Palletizing Robot Retrofit with KUKA – Future-Ready Automation
A KUKA retrofit brought the more than 30-year-old palletizing system at backaldrin up to date – ensuring spare parts availability, greater efficiency, and increased flexibility.
The success story of backaldrin International The Kornspitz Company began in 1964 in Vienna. Today, the headquarters of this internationally operating family business is located in Asten, Austria. There, backaldrin employs around 380 people and produces high-quality baking ingredients for bakeries worldwide. Over the past 60 years, the company has steadily evolved. In addition to its Austrian site, backaldrin now operates seven more production facilities in Jordan, Switzerland, Mexico, South Africa, Ukraine, Russia and China.
With around 1,000 employees globally, backaldrin supplies the bakery and confectionery industry in over 100 countries. The product range includes more than 800 items – including bread, rolls, and fine pastries. Production is carried out with great care, using regional raw materials, often also in organic quality.
To further optimize production processes at the Asten site, backaldrin opted for a retrofit with KUKA. A more than 30-year-old palletizing system was replaced by KUKA's powerful KR IONTEC robot.
Bread ideas powered by modern technology
At the very site where the original Kornspitz was invented in 1984, work is now underway to develop the breads and pastries of tomorrow. “We don’t just see ourselves as a producer of high-quality baking ingredients – we also develop new product varieties for our customers,” explains CEO Ing. Mag. Wolfgang Mayer. Social trends and modern nutrition concepts play an important role in this.
backaldrin's headquarters in Asten near Linz – a center for bread innovation, quality, and international baking culture.
The combination of diversity, taste, quality, modern dough management, and innovative production methods shapes product development. New ideas are continuously generated, enriched by the expertise of backaldrin’s master bakers and pastry chefs. This spirit of innovation is also reflected in production. That’s why the company chose to modernize an aging palletizing system with a targeted palletizing robot retrofit using KUKAtechnology.
backaldrin stands for innovation, quality and a living baking culture – from the original Kornspitz to pioneering bread ideas for tomorrow’s world.
Why retrofit instead of purchasing new?
Since 1995, a KUKA robot had been palletizing canisters of baking agents – but spare parts were becoming increasingly difficult to source. “The technology had reached the end of its lifecycle. However, it was important for us to keep the existing system layout. That's why we deliberately chose a retrofit,” says Ing. Daniel Hager, MBA, Head of Technical Operations at backaldrin. The benefits: minimal changes to the existing layout, short downtimes, and significantly lower investment costs compared to a new system.
Why KUKA again? “Our employees are familiar with KUKA technology, and the proximity to the KUKA site in Steyregg has always been a clear advantage,” says Hager. Another decisive factor was the manufacturer’s well-thought-out retrofit concept. The fact that the complete conversion could be carried out on-sitewithin a week confirmed the right decision.
Retrofit means rethinking the existing intelligently. We only replace what’s absolutely necessary. That’s how we quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively deliver modern and future-proof solutions for our customers.
After the KUKA palletizing robot retrofit, the robot cell at backaldrin is once again state-of-the-art.
Technology update: New robot and control system
At the heart of the retrofit is the KR IONTECpalletizing robot from KUKA. It impresses with its compact design, high energy efficiency and minimal maintenance requirements – an oil change is only needed after 20,000 operating hours. With guaranteed spare parts availability for 25 years, KUKA also offers long-term planning security, making the retrofit a future-proof investment.
The KR IONTEC from KUKA impresses with its compact design, high energy efficiency and minimal maintenance.
Due to the new kinematic requirements, the robot base was also replaced. However, the existing gripper system could be fully retained – an additional advantage in terms of cost and conversion time. The new KUKA KR C5 controller requires significantly less space than its predecessor. The smart software solutionKUKA.PalletTech was also used: by simply entering the canister dimensions, the system automatically calculates the optimal palletizing pattern. Even if the product changes later, the system can be flexibly adapted – with no programming knowledge required.
The KUKA retrofit included a new robot, base, KR C5 controller and safety fence.
“With the touch panel, the so-called SmartPad, employees benefit from intuitive operation, supported by real-time visualization of processes and states,” explains Peter Pfarrhofer from KUKA Austria. Especially in the context of the palletizing robot retrofit, the modern KUKA KR C5 controller enables user-friendly and efficient robot control.
The KUKA KR C5 controller with SmartPad makes operating the palletizing robot especially user-friendly.
With the KUKA retrofit, we have made our existing system future-ready – with maximum availability and more flexibility for future demands.
Palletizing robot retrofit as an efficient investment in the future
Peter Pfarrhofer sums it up: “Retrofit means rethinking the existing intelligently. We only replace what’s really necessary. With our extensive experience, we provide customers with modern and future-proof solutions – quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.” The palletizing robot retrofit clearly demonstrates how targeted modernization can enable a long-term, sustainable automation solution.
With the KUKA retrofit, backaldrin enters the next phase of production modernization.
The biggest challenge was the tight timeframe for the conversion. “Thanks to appropriate pre-production, we were able to schedule a one-week downtime. KUKA executed it excellently,” says Hager. The project ran smoothly from planning through implementation to employee training – a textbook example of successful retrofit in industrial practice.
For Daniel Hager, the retrofit is also a strong signal to the workforce: “It shows that we are investing in the future of the Asten site. This conversion is just the first step in a larger modernization plan – and with such a competent partner as KUKA, we are consistently pursuing this path.” The palletizing robot retrofit marks the beginning of a comprehensive production modernization.
The KUKA KR C5 controller improves efficiency and saves resources in the retrofit.
