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Automated Packaging with Robots
The company BK Automation, based in Gelderland, consists of a team of true engineers and specializes in providing solutions for automatically packaging products in folding boxes, trays, or crates. The entire process—from erecting a box or tray, collecting and sorting the product, to closing or lidding the box or tray—can be delivered by BK Automation in a compact setup. They distinguish themselves by the small footprint of their machines, user-friendliness, and solutions that are often just a bit different and more flexible than those of competitors.
Simple Solutions
BK Automation was founded by Bas and Kees in 2019 when they decided to join forces from their individual businesses. It originated from maintaining machines, and from there, they started building their own. “BK, straightforward and simple. That’s what we stand for—simple solutions,” says Jasper van Mourik, Sales Manager. Everything is developed and executed in-house, from the mechanical components to the programming. This ensures a high level of flexibility.
Case Packers and Palletizers
The company initially focused on automating production work, with less emphasis on packaging. However, over the past five years, this area has grown rapidly. “We started focusing more on packaging, and our current portfolio mainly consists of case packers and palletizers,” Van Mourik explains.
“Our pride is the pancake line, where we use a robotic packer to package pancakes at high speed—both upright and flat—using a total of five Yaskawa robots. Two robots are used to pre-form the products, and two industrial GP25 robots place the products into boxes. The fifth Yaskawa robot, the GP70L, is used for palletizing in our custom robot palletizer.” This complete line is tailor-made for a client who produces a wide range of products, including pie dough, pizza dough, pancakes, mini pancakes, waffles, and cookies.
Short Lines of Communication
Turnkey projects are becoming more common, with companies seeking comprehensive solutions. This goes beyond just a palletizer or case packer and often includes integrated systems in between, such as labelling or inspection systems. As a result, project scope increases and more collaboration with third parties occurs. The company started with two people and now has 15 employees, with ambitions to continue growing steadily. However, there is no intention of becoming a large company—maintaining short lines of communication with customers is the top priority.
When BK Automation was looking for a robot supplier, Yaskawa stood out, especially due to the wide range of options in reach, payload, and flexibility. The ease of integration with BNR or Siemens software was also a key factor. After several discussions with different robot manufacturers, BK Automation found that Yaskawa's vision and approach aligned best with their own.
Thinking Along and Looking Ahead Together
“The extensive portfolio was particularly interesting for us—the smaller robots for our case packers and countless options for our palletizers. We've had a great relationship with Marc van Kaam (Account Manager Yaskawa Benelux, ed.) from the start. He arranged a lot for us, and with a quick response time,” Van Mourik recalls. “That kind of feedback is very valuable for a young company like ours. Discovering new possibilities together with your programmers, thinking ahead, brainstorming together. How can we make it as easy as possible for the operator? That’s the biggest common ground between BK and Yaskawa.”
Projects are often product-dependent, which means BK Automation's solutions are constantly evolving. While the base consists of standard modules, everything else is adapted to the specific product being handled. Van Mourik adds, “You’ll always see a customer-specific element. That’s what excites us as engineers—it challenges us and keeps us innovating. We’re constantly being pushed forward by our customers.”
Looking to the Future
BK Automation continues to develop with an eye on the future, including the increasing use of vision technology. For this, the company works with a partner who has proven expertise in the field. “Exciting developments lie ahead. Of course, we’re dealing with a national issue in terms of labor shortages, but the barrier to choosing robotics is gone. The technology has proven itself—and that’s something we can definitely build on.”
Photo credits: BK Automation
