India, June 12 -- Leading process control and automation specialist, Promtek, joined an impressive line-up of speakers at this year's Smart Manufacturing Week 2025, held at the NEC in Birmingham. The UK's largest festival of advanced manufacturing and engineering, the event brought together industry leaders and innovators to explore how smart technologies can transform production across every stage of the manufacturing journey.
Managing Director of Promtek, Charles Williams, captivated audiences with his presentation on "Tackling the Challenges of Dispensing Small Ingredients." His talk addressed a longstanding bottleneck in manufacturing processes: how to accurately and efficiently handle small-ingredient dispensing without resorting to costly bespoke machinery or relying solely on manual labour.
Mr. Williams described the current situation, where options are often limited to either labour-intensive and inconsistent manual operations or prohibitively expensive customised solutions. He then introduced a third alternative that is both adaptable and scalable: collaborative robots, or cobots. These advanced robotic systems are specifically designed to work alongside humans, handling repetitive, uncomfortable, or highly precise tasks, thereby allowing employees to concentrate on more demanding or creative responsibilities.
"Cobots are not here to replace people - they're here to work with them," said Williams during his presentation. "Our goal is to bridge the gap between human intuition and robotic precision."
Promtek's approach understands that while humans are unmatched in their ability to respond to unpredictable conditions, cobots bring unrivalled consistency and accuracy. This makes them ideal for ingredient handling - whether it's weighing, mixing, portioning, or even packaging and palletising. For these reasons the company has designed systems that pair human oversight with cobot precision, resulting in significantly reduced error rates and enhanced operational efficiency.
Promtek's journey into combining solutions with advanced robotic systems began in 2020 when the company set out to develop a real-world solution to small-ingredient dispensing challenges. Partnering with Staffordshire University, Promtek joined the SAMPID (Staffordshire Advanced Manufacturing, Prototyping and Innovation Demonstrator) project. This initiative granted access to specialised robotic equipment and technical support that would otherwise be inaccessible.
The project's success subsequently resulted in the business participating in a Knowledge Transfer Programme (KTP) funded by Innovate UK, with the support of the university. This has allowed Promtek to recruit a further number of associates to assist in the delivery of smart, robotic solutions.
Today, Promtek's technology is transitioning from lab to factory floor. With a working prototype now field-ready, several manufacturing companies have expressed interest in trialling the solution in their facilities. The ultimate aim is a market-ready cobot solution that integrates seamlessly into existing operations and delivers reliable, repeatable results at scale.
Looking ahead, Promtek plans to expand its efforts by securing European innovation funding and forming strategic partnerships - further building on the success of its latest collaboration with Cypriot-based deep-tech leader, IREROBOT. The company's ambition is to grow from selling one robotic solution a month to several, while ensuring the technology remains compatible with a wide range of manufacturing environments and systems.
"We believe smart ingredient dispensing should be top investment priority for C-Suite and SME boards, not an optional upgrade," said Williams. "Our vision is to make dispensing precision accessible, affordable and adaptable, no matter the size of your operation."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from FoodTechBiz.