Cranswick deploys Rockwell Automation robotics to hit 240 picks per minute on pigs-in-blankets line

Every Christmas, Cranswick produces millions of pigs-in-blankets for UK retailers. Until recently, the final step of that process, lifting sausages off a conveyor and placing them into packaging, was done by hand. That manual bottleneck is gone. Cranswick has commissioned a fully automated pick-and-place system that operates at 240 cycles per minute, according to a June 23 announcement published via PRNewswire and reported by the Financial Times Markets data service.

The project was delivered by CWM Automation, a Rockwell Automation Gold-Level OEM, using autonox Delta robotics combined with Rockwell's Allen-Bradley GuardLogix 5380 safety controller and Kinetix VP low-inertia servo motors. The controller handles both precision motion coordination and functional safety in a single architecture, eliminating the need for a separate safety relay layer.

How the system works at production speed

The robot first detects the presence and orientation of each sausage on the conveyor. It then picks, realigns, and places the product into the correct packaging slot, 240 times every minute. That rate is not just about throughput: the orientation step is what made manual operation difficult to scale, because sausages arrive at irregular angles and must be placed consistently for downstream sealing and labeling to function correctly.

Mark Lundgren, chief engineering manager at Cranswick Gourmet Sausage, said the new system allows the company to meet production goals in a way that is more efficient and cost effective, and that labor productivity on the line is greatly increased, with staff now available to work on other production lines. That last point matters to operations leaders evaluating similar projects: the labor released is not eliminated but redeployed, which reduces the political and HR friction that often stalls automation proposals.

CWM Automation's managing director, Mick Williams, noted in the announcement that the project faced a hard deadline tied to Cranswick's annual production calendar. The Christmas seasonal window is unforgiving: missing it would mean missing an entire year's worth of volume for that product line. Hitting the deadline required tight coordination between CWM's engineering team, Cranswick's in-house engineers, and Rockwell Automation's systems consultants.

Robotics at the front of the investment queue

The Cranswick deployment is not an isolated case. According to a survey by IMI's Industrial Automation sector, reported by Automation Magazine in July 2026, robotics leads all categories of planned automation investment over the next five years, with interconnectivity identified as the critical enabling factor. Operations teams are investing in robots not as standalone machines but as nodes in a connected production network, where data from each unit feeds into broader process optimization.

That framing aligns with parallel developments across the UK manufacturing sector. Automation Magazine reported in July 2026 that visual intelligence, the use of camera and sensor data already embedded in factory environments, is increasingly treated as an underutilized data asset. Separately, IntelliAM AI, a UK-listed industrial AI company, launched an end-to-end agentic AI platform in mid-July aimed at converting that kind of operational data into real-time manufacturing productivity gains.

Together, these developments describe a consistent direction: automated physical systems like the Cranswick pick-and-place line generate data, and the next layer of investment is in the software and AI that turns that data into continuous improvement rather than just throughput.

What integrators and OEMs need to replicate this

For operations and engineering teams evaluating similar projects, the Cranswick case surfaces several practical considerations. The choice of a Delta robot architecture, which uses parallel arm linkages to achieve very high cycle rates with low moving mass, is well suited to lightweight food products where speed and gentle handling must coexist. The GuardLogix controller handles safety certification natively, which shortens the compliance documentation burden compared to architectures that bolt safety onto a standard PLC after the fact.

The OEM partnership structure is also worth noting. CWM Automation's Gold-Level status with Rockwell Automation gave the team direct access to technical support and component supply chains under a tight deadline, according to the Financial Times Markets announcement. For procurement teams assembling automation projects, the tier of an OEM's relationship with its technology supplier is a meaningful proxy for delivery risk, especially on time-sensitive seasonal deployments.

Cranswick's next steps were not disclosed in the announcement. But with the Christmas line now automated and staff redeployed to other production areas, the operational template is in place for Cranswick to extend similar systems to other repetitive end-of-line processes across its facilities.