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Retrofit solutions provided by BFR Systems, in partnership with Bosch Rexroth
For nearly 40 years, Alliance Océane, a company of the Savencia group, has been producing Coraya-brand surimi in Carentan-les-Marais, France. The company has recently modernized two high-speed pick-and-place robotic cells with the support of BFR Systems’ retrofit department, and Bosch Rexroth automation components.
A need: Addressing delta robot obsolescence
On this production line, which is over 25 years old, the maintainability of the robots responsible for picking pouches from conveyors and placing them into trays was no longer sufficient to guarantee operational continuity.
Jean-Noël Mariette, Head of Capital Projects at Alliance Océane, evaluated two options simultaneously: full replacement or retrofit. He ultimately chose the latter, convinced by BFR Systems’ approach.
“They had already carried out retrofit projects on this brand, which gave us confidence. We also appreciated their tiered modernization approach, which allowed us to choose the level best suited to our needs. Being a French company, BFR Systems’ proximity was another key factor, making communication and project follow-up much easier.” he explains.
Control cabinet for Alliance Océane´s robotic cells
An opportunity: BFR Systems’ retrofit offering
Retrofitting machines and packaging lines is an attractive alternative, both economically and environmentally. Rodolphe Duchateau, Director of the BFR Systems site in Mauves-sur-Loire, has expanded this service offering, building on the company’s experience as a machine manufacturer and its partnership with Bosch Rexroth.
“We provide retrofit solutions not only for our own machines, but also for packaging equipment, vertical form-fill-seal machines, and high-speed robots from other brands,” he explains.
“Retrofit now accounts for one-third of the activity at our Mauves-sur-Loire site near Nantes, and we expect this share to continue growing, driven by increasing demand for our multi-brand expertise.”
A constraint: maintaining the high speeds of the original robots
One of the main challenges of this project was preserving line performance, which depends on the high throughput of the delta robots.
“Our line was designed to process several hundred pouches per minute, and it was essential for us to maintain the same throughput on the modernized line,” says Jean-Noël Mariette.
François Cabral, Application Engineer at Bosch Rexroth, explains:
“To achieve such high speeds, you need fast, precise, and smooth trajectories. This is exactly what the combination of our controllers and drives enables. This integrated solution for robot kinematics and axis motion control delivers exceptional computing performance, with response times in the microsecond—and even nanosecond—range, along with highly precise motion control.”
Cells dismantled and recommissioned in 2 weeks
It was ultimately decided to retain only the external structure of the cells, while fully replacing the robot mechanics and automation systems. The key challenge was to organize the retrofit in a way that minimized line downtime.
Thanks to the teams’ commitment, thorough preparation, and the flexibility of Bosch Rexroth solutions, the cells were completely dismantled and recommissioned within two weeks.
“The deadlines were met as planned,” says Jean-Noël Mariette.
“I believe this is due both to the competence and experience of our partners and to the quality of the support. We were supported from start to finish by a single project manager, which made the process more efficient.”
Ensured maintainability for the next 25 years
The objective of this retrofit was to give the robotic cells a second life. This goal has now been achieved, with their operational lifespan effectively doubled thanks to commitments made by Bosch Rexroth.
“We go far beyond regulatory requirements by ensuring that critical components remain available and usable more than 25 years after their official end of commercialization,” explains François Cabral.
“The long-term sustainability of our cells is now secured. We can rely both on the local support of BFR Systems teams and on Bosch Rexroth’s presence in France to optimize their operation and maintenance,” concludes Jean-Noël Mariette.
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