- Product Spotlight
From Farm to Table: How Industrial Automation Supports Food Production During the Holidays
- By Emily Hagel
The holiday season is all about gathering with loved ones, sharing meals, and celebrating traditions. Behind every Thanksgiving table, however, lies a complex network of farms, processors, and packaging facilities working around the clock to ensure food gets from the field to your plate. Fresh, safe, and on time.
During these peak demand periods, industrial automation plays a critical role in keeping food production and packaging running smoothly. From sensors that guarantee product quality to drives that optimize production lines, automation technologies help ensure the shelves stay stocked and the holiday feasts go uninterrupted.
Meeting Seasonal Demand with Reliable Automation
The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving see some of the highest production volumes of the year. Food processors and packagers must balance efficiency with safety, scaling up output without compromising quality. That’s where smart automation makes the difference.
Sensors help monitor everything from temperature and fill levels to conveyor alignment, ensuring consistent production and reducing waste.
Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) keep motors running efficiently, adapting speed and torque to production needs, lowering energy consumption, and minimizing wear on equipment.
Power distribution and monitoring systems guarantee reliability, preventing costly downtime that could disrupt already tight schedules.
Together, these technologies allow facilities to respond quickly to surges in demand while maintaining strict quality and compliance standards.
Ensuring Food Safety and Quality
For food and beverage manufacturers, safety is non-negotiable. Automation enhances quality assurance by adding precision and consistency to every step of the process:
Hygienic, washdown-rated sensors and equipment ensure compliance with strict sanitary requirements.
Automated monitoring systems detect irregularities, such as improper sealing or incorrect labeling, before products leave the line.
Traceability tools like RFID help track products through every stage, offering transparency and accountability.
This automation not only protects consumers but also safeguards brand reputation during one of the most important food holidays of the year.
Sustainability at the Holiday Table
Thanksgiving is a season of gratitude, and increasingly, consumers are thankful for sustainable practices in the food supply chain. Industrial automation helps reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, and minimize environmental impact.
By leveraging smart drives, advanced sensors, and real-time power monitoring, food producers can optimize energy use, reduce scrap, and run leaner operations—all while keeping up with seasonal demand.
At Lakeland Engineering Equipment Company, we understand the unique challenges food and beverage manufacturers face—especially during the holidays. We partner with industry-leading suppliers like Turck, Honeywell, Schneider Electric, Eaton, and Yaskawa to provide sensors, drives, power solutions, and safety equipment that keep operations efficient, compliant, and sustainable.
From farm to table, our engineering expertise and reliable solutions help ensure that food producers can deliver quality products to families everywhere—just in time for the holidays.
