How food manufacturers are using AI vision, robotics, sorting and automation to boost quality, efficiency and competitiveness.

In this episode, we share the latest automation and technology innovations showcased at FoodPro 2026.

How upcycled textile robot covers can extend robot life and reduce maintenance in harsh manufacturing environments

Affordable palletising automation designed to help smaller manufacturers adopt robotics safely and cost-effectively

AI-powered machine vision systems for real-time food quality inspection, labelling compliance and defect detection

Food sorting and grading technologies using AI, machine vision and spectral analysis to improve yield and decision-making

End-of-line coding, marking, labelling and palletising solutions that help streamline packaging operations

Whether you're a plant manager, operations leader, automation engineer or technology buyer, this episode provides practical insights into the latest technologies shaping Australian food manufacturing.

Featured guests: Ben Wood, Co-Founder at WipTex (Waste in Progress Textiles), Jim Karatasos, Founder of Process Evolution, Aditya Agrawal, Co-founder of Frinks AI, Andrew Saliba, Area Sales Manager at TOMRA, and Steven B Cail, State General Manager at Visy.

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Show notes and links for this episode: https://www.manufacturingtech.au/episodes/

How dairy processors can close the recycled plastic cost gap with backhauled bottle returns and food-grade HDPE reuse.

Recorded live at CeMAT 2027, Shane hosts a panel discussion with Ben McCulloch from Martog & Company, Edward Vaudrey from Popit Recycling, and Taylor Quinn from Procal Dairies who share how a closed-loop model could reduce the cost barrier that keeps food-grade recycled HDPE above virgin polymer. The cover:

* Why food-grade recycled HDPE usually costs more than virgin plastic, including smaller plant scale and the added collection, sorting, washing, decontamination, and extrusion steps.

* How Procal’s existing crate return network can backhaul empty milk bottles from cafés, restaurants, and other food-service sites without adding new logistics cost.

* How Popit’s modular recovery system scans bottles, removes contaminants, flakes material on site, and sends it to Martog for hot washing and food-grade processing.

* Why 30 to 50 per cent recycled content is currently the commercial sweet spot for milk bottles, even though the long-term goal is to push costs to parity with virgin resin.

* What rollout could look like next, from proving the economics at Prokal to expanding across more dairy processors in Australia.

Whether you’re a plant manager, packaging lead, or sustainability manager, this episode gives you a practical model for testing circular packaging without building an entirely new recovery network.

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Show notes and links for this episode: https://www.manufacturingtech.au/episodes/

From cold chain robotics to humanoid AI, what will actually deliver value on the warehouse floor in 2026 might surprise you.

At CeMAT 2026, Shane and Paul sat down with John Sauer from OPEX, Daniele Farioli from Modula, Maryam Ziaee from Slimstock, and Adam Frank from SugarAI, along with a Daemon robotics showcase, to break down what’s real versus hype.

In this episode, we cover:

How next-gen AS/RS systems are enabling multi-temperature storage without traditional cold rooms

What humanoid robots can actually do today and how VR-trained AI models are shaping warehouse automation

The evolution of vertical storage systems and how businesses are scaling high-speed fulfilment

How inventory optimisation platforms are improving stock accuracy, cutting waste, and lifting revenue

Why most manufacturers are sitting on untapped data and how AI-driven CRM is unlocking better forecasting

If you're running warehouse operations, supply chain, or manufacturing, this episode gives you a grounded view of where automation and AI are really delivering results right now.

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Show notes and links for this episode: https://www.manufacturingtech.au/episodes/