Robot sheep processing plan gets $16.7m cash boost

Robots may soon be doing even more processing of sheep in NZ meat works. Photo / Dannevirke News

The meat industry is to spend millions of dollars researching how the use of automation technology in sheep processing can increase productivity and help with labour shortages.

The Foundation for Research Science and Technology said it was working with nine meat industry companies in the $16.7 million research initiative.

The foundation invests more then $500m a year on behalf of the government in research and development.

Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie said the project would deliver productivity improvements of up to $43m a year within five years.

Researchers planned to use state-of-the-art sensing and robotic technology to fully automate the early stages of sheep processing including removing the pelt and the internal organs, Mr Ritchie said.

The technology would mean 18 fewer people were needed on each processing chain, per shift.

It would also improve pelt and meat quality, and cut costs related to accidents and injuries, Ritchie said.

The technology would help the industry tackle a growing labour shortage.

"As well as tackling the shortage, the project will make jobs in the meat industry more attractive.

"Rather than carrying out repetitive and heavy manual labour, workers will be operators of sophisticated technology," said Ritchie.

The nine meat companies involved in the research were Silver Fern Farms, Alliance Group, ANZCO, Taylor Preston, Progressive Meats, Bernard Matthews, Crusader Meats, Auckland Meat Processors, and Blue Sky Meats.

The Foundation for Research Science and Technology senior business manager Robert Matheson said greater automation in New Zealand's sheep meat industry would help to ensure sheep meat remained a successful export industry.

The foundation was investing $8.36m over six years with the rest of the funds provided by the Meat Industry Research Institute , and the nine companies.

The research would be carried out by Industrial Research Limited and Miller's Mechanical (NZ) Limited.

- NZPA