Treasury Wine Estates has commenced operations of an automation system at its largest bottling facility, in Australia’s Barossa Valley region.
The project, which has cost the group almost US$7m, is designed to increase the site’s production capacity by “up to” 60%. Featuring nine driverless forklifts, barrel management software and automated washing and filling, the set-up will apply across Treasury’s Penfolds, Pepperjack and Saltram wine brands.
Regarding any changes to the facility’s employee headcount, the company that staff allocation in the barrel hall has been “optimised” while existing forklift operators “have either been re-skilled to operate the digital barrel management system and manage the new automated vehicles, or moved on to other roles at the site”.
“We’ve seen improvements in safety, efficiency and traceability in our barrel hall, with the team on site embracing the new way of working,” added director of supply technology Jodie Rowlands. “The efficiency and precision of automated, sensor-based forklifts to transport the barrels lowers energy consumption compared to manual handling processes.”
Treasury will be hoping for an end to its recent sales declines when it reports fiscal-2024 results next month. For the 12 months to the end of June 2023, the top line fell by almost 5%, while six-month sales to the end of December slipped by 2.3%.
