A South Australian manufacturer has won an ongoing contract to create and service a purpose-built robot for the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and flavour company, in Belgium.
Accurate Dosing Systems (ADS), based at the Tonsley Innovation District, will build the robot for Firmenich, a global giant which creates fragrances and flavours.
The local company moved to the Malinauskas Labor Government-supported Tonsley Innovation District in May last year, helping to fast-track the development of its technology.
ADS used the move to tap into the extensive advanced manufacturing expertise within the District – including buying equipment on site from Phoenix Contact and Rockwell Automation, and engaging Flinders University for 3D printing services.
Its Tonsley factory has the capacity to manufacture dozens of robots a year, with ADS hoping to expand products and services to hundreds of flavour and fragrance factories and creation labs around the world.
ADS’ hi-tech robot – which is being shipped to Firmenich’s creation lab later this year – will automate the process of measuring hundreds of flavouring solutions, with the results used to shape the formulas and taste profile of food and beverages such as soups, coffee, yoghurt and breakfast cereals.
The game-changing, South Australian-produced robot – the first of its kind at Firmenich – uses hybrid technology that allows scent and flavour formulas to be compounded on the machine in minutes instead of hours for maximum efficiency.
ADS is one of just five companies worldwide offering this specialised dosing technology – and is well placed to deliver the State a bigger slice of the USD$24 billion flavour and fragrance industry.
Products developed by Firmenich reach more than four billion consumers a day in over 100 international markets across its Taste & Beyond and Perfumery divisions.
Tonsley has welcomed more than 150 businesses since its inception, employing about 2000 people.
Quotes
Attributable to Nick Champion
South Australia’s growing reputation for advanced manufacturing is bolstered as more local companies, like Accurate Dosing Systems, find global success.
It’s great to see this local company now using the Precinct’s collaborative connections, entrepreneurial culture and global networks to expand its influence and reach around the world.
This new partnership is another success story of tech commercialisation and again shows why South Australia is a smart place to invest.
Attributable to Nadia Clancy
My community is proud of Tonsley’s ability to showcase South Australia’s capabilities to the world from our own backyard – from the same place our families play and ride their bikes.
The District’s reputation as an innovation hub is attracting more companies to relocate and take advantage of its offerings.
Attributable to ADS co-founder and managing director Masoud Bahmai
By offering an optimised combination we can now meet the demands of mid-to-large size operations that often need speed of processing and high automation rates.
Being a young business can sometimes be a disadvantage when dealing with larger corporate companies because they are often more comfortable being serviced by bigger established companies.
But being at Tonsley they see that we have the support of a whole community – that image is quite powerful to outsiders.
We are in the right place. We are surrounded by manufacturing technology companies, so it’s easier for us to attract staff with higher skills because it’s a vibrant and exciting environment with opportunities for collaboration.
Attributable to vice president Eurotech Taste & Beyond Firmenich Annemarie Steffl
We are constantly striving for ways to reduce our environmental impact – we are dedicated to deriving the best from nature sustainably.
This new digitalised dosing system will allow us to achieve an even greater level of precision, efficiency and speed, while eliminating raw materials waste and enhance our ability to provide precise value chain data to our customers.
