Case Study: Philip Morris streamlines finished goods handling with Dematic automation

Philip Morris - Customer Case Study

The customer Philip Morris faced the challenge of consolidating cigarette case palletizing and shipping operations from two separate facilities into a single, integrated center that required minimal manual labor. To meet this need, they worked with the vendor Dematic to implement a new, highly automated finished goods handling system in their Richmond, Virginia facility.

Dematic provided a comprehensive solution that included new PLC conveyor controls, a case sortation system with four sorters, four robotic gantry palletizers, and a pallet delivery system using automated guided vehicles (AGVs). The integration of these subsystems and a custom Human Machine Interface (HMI) software control system resulted in a fully automated operation capable of receiving manufacturing product 24/7. The Dematic system successfully consolidated the customer's operations into one facility, significantly reducing manual intervention and streamlining the entire process from production to automatic truck loading.

Philip Morris