BISCUIT AND COOKIE PRODUCTION


BISCUIT LINE BUILDING A SMARTER


Gary Kirk, Northern Region End User Sales Manager, Consumer Packaged Goods at Rockwell Automation explores how digital twins, unified data and closer OEM collaboration can reduce commissioning time and improve performance across biscuit and cookie production lines.


1. Where does the digital twin actually save time in commissioning? “Everyone talks about faster time-to-value, but in your experience with Emulate3D, which specific commissioning steps are eliminated or shortened the most — and by how much in a typical food & beverage project?” The greatest time savings come from validating the line much


earlier in the project, before physical equipment arrives on site. With Emulate3D, teams can test control code, machine logic, line sequencing, throughput assumptions and integration points before physical machines arrive on site. That means less time is spent during commissioning on basic debugging, wiring validation and PLC logic checks between machines and “first-time” line integration issues. Once the equipment is installed, the code can simply be


downloaded, significantly accelerating commissioning. Together, Studio 5000 and the EPLAN integration were already delivering 10–15% reductions across the entire project. With the addition of EPLAN integrated into Emulate3D, customers are now reporting overall project time reductions of 40–50% through this fully integrated approach. That translates into substantial savings in time, materials and energy. For a cookie or biscuit line, that is especially valuable because the line is continuous: dough preparation, forming, baking, cooling, packaging and palletising all must run in sequence. If one area is mistimed, the effect travels downstream.


2. How realistic are cross-OEM interactions in a virtual environment? “When you connect multiple OEM machines in a virtual line, how accurately can you simulate real-world integration issues—like timing mismatches or control conflicts—before hardware is on site?” Emulate3D is a fully functional digital twin platform that allows


manufacturers to test and validate machine concepts before physical production begins. It can model machine performance, throughput, line integration and behaviours such as friction, weight and material movement. That matters in a multi-OEM production line because many of the


hardest integration issues are not visible until machines are connected. Timing and speed mismatches, queueing problems, buffer limitations, product transfer issues, rejected-product handling and control conflicts can all be tested earlier if the virtual line reflects the actual machines and control architecture. An ecosystem approach, such as that offered by Rockwell Automation, can also help align multiple OEMs around common standards, interfaces and validation processes, making it easier to build a unified virtual production line and identify integration issues early. The virtual cookie line displayed at Interpack 2026, brought together


several OEMs across the value chain: Royal Kaak for dough mixing, GEA for depositing, oven and cooling, Mespack for primary packaging, Vimco for secondary packaging, and Cetec Industrie for palletising. This demonstrates processing and packaging can be engineered as one digitally connected operation, rather than as separate projects stitched together late in the process.


22 • KENNEDY’S BAKERY PRODUCTION • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2026


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44