Kirin tests robotic hands for beer gift box assembly as Japan’s labor shortage looms

10 May 2021 --- Kirin is demonstrating how in-house robotic hands can replace manual labor in Japan’s increasingly aging workforce. 

Robots designed at Kirin’s Brewery’s Package Innovation Laboratory are being tested in product assortment and box set processing – operations that have until now only been handled manually.

Known as the “2030 Problem,” Japan’s continuously aging society and decreasing birth rates are expected to result in seniors making up one-third of the national population by the end of the decade.

“The purpose is not to reduce employment, but to address the labor shortage and ensure business continuity,” a Kirin spokesperson tells PackagingInsights.

“When efficiency can be improved through labor saving, it is possible to perform high value-added work.”

Kirin has developed its own robot system to assemble gift cartons.The introduction of robots aims to promote automation as a solution to labor shortages. The company may expand robotic automation upon further success. 

Automation for beer box sets
During the demonstration, the robotic “hands” are assembling 30,000 Kirin Ichiban gift box sets at Kirin’s Tokyo East Logistics center until May 18. Designed for versatility, the robots can also assemble other various types of gift sets by updating their AI protocol.

Beer box sets – widely popular as gifts – account for more than half of the product assortment and processing work at Kirin Brewery. Kirin maintains elaborately styled Japanese packaging and presentation, such as furoshiki and origami, have been part of Japanese culture for centuries.

“The system uses three robot arms, and we developed our own robot hands and systems – the hardware and software – for carton supply, box forming and discharge,” says the spokesperson.

By automating tasks heavily reliant on manual folding inner boxes, assorting gift items and stacking processed items on pallets, Kirin expects work efficiency can be improved by 50 percent, while reducing the physical workload of carrying heavy items.

The meticulous folding and forming of multiple parts normally requires “the delicate handling of human fingers,” Kirin affirms.

The boxes previously needed to be folded and assembled manually.Robots on a roll
According to a survey by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, there is a 30 percent gap between domestic labor supply and logistics industry demand as of 2020. Estimates predict the gap will rise to 40 percent in 2030 and 50 percent in 2050.

Consequently, the demand for robots is growing. PackagingInsights’ latest Expert View report considers the opportunities of integrating robots into packaging operations. 

An industry roundtable last November highlighted how automatic packaging solutions are coveted in the bakery sector as COVID-19 physical distancing requirements limit manual labor.

Meanwhile, Kirin has kept busy during the pandemic, celebrating record-high sales for its Frontera brand wine earlier this year. Its alcoholic beverage producing arm Mercian also introduced 290 mL bottle-shaped aluminum cans to the cider market. 

By Anni Schleicher