Installation of LED Linear Lighting in a pasta manufacturing plant!（NIPPN CORPORATION）
Lighting Equipment
?Mr. Y, Manager, Technical Development Team,
Plant Engineering Div., Production & Technology Dept.,
NIPPN CORPORATION
?Mr. H, Manager, Production Planning Group, Atsugi Plant,
OHMY CO., LTD
?Mr. K, Production Planning Group, Atsugi Plant, OHMY CO., LTD
（Position at the time）
Our LED Linear Lighting (a product that illuminates the target with lines of light) was installed for a collaborative robot operating at the Atsugi Plant of OHMY CO., LTD.
OHMY CO., LTD is a group company of NIPPN CORPORATION that manufactures food products of the Oh'my brand, which is well-known for spaghetti. To find out what kind of work environment was created by this combination of light with a collaborative robot, I visited the Atsugi Plant and interviewed three people who participated in the project.
- The Collaborative Robot at NIPPN CORPORATION -
NIPPN CORPORATION is developing manufacturing equipment that utilizes the unique know-how it has as a food manufacturer. This includes know-how regarding aspects such as safety, hygiene, and ease of use, which are not necessarily known at the equipment manufacturers. In addition, as there are various plants of the NIPPN Group companies, the equipment is fully verified in a manufacturing workplace before being provided to customers as easy-to-use equipment.
Mr. Y
Thank you for visiting our Atsugi plant.
We are currently operating the collaborative robot with LED Linear Lighting installed where the "Oh'my Premium" is being manufactured.
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It's that product isn't it - the one that's been getting a lot of attention lately!!
To get straight to the main theme, can you describe how LED Linear Lighting is being used with collaborative robot?
Mr. H
On the collaborative robot where LED Linear Lighting is installed, in order to protect the safety of our employees, the light from LED Linear Lighting illuminates lines on the floor to visualize intrusion into the robot's area. There is an aisle close to where the collaborative robot is installed, so the lighting makes it possible to notify employees who don't know the work that there is danger. This means that the light is a reassuring factor for the workplace. The width of the aisle has been widened and it is contributing to a space-saving layout.
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So, the light is bringing safety and security to the workplace. What color of LED Linear Lighting are you using?
Mr. Y
After the products have been put into boxes in the packaging process, the collaborative robot is performing the work to load (stack) those boxes on pallets. A green light indicates where workers can enter and a red light indicates where they are prohibited from entering. If a worker goes beyond the red light and approaches the robot, the robot detects this with a sensor and the operation stops. In addition to this function, the red light starts to blink when the stacking of the boxes is complete, as a function to notify the operator. The equipment also utilizes AI that detects only people and is designed so that if a worker crosses the green line, the operating speed of the robot is slowed for safety.
What was your opinion when you actually saw the light from LED Linear Lighting?
Mr. H
Despite being compact equipment, it has high output and the colors are very vivid. The light is clear despite the lighting from the ceiling of the room, but it is not too dazzling and we were able to introduce it into the work area without any feeling of incongruity, so it has been a great help. The installation was also easy.
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The compact size and high output are strengths of LED Linear Lighting, so I'm glad that you were able to experience that in person.
May I ask about the reason behind your installation of the product?
Mr. H
Before the introduction of LED Liner Lighting, the only way to warn workers of the danger was with the warning sound emitted by the robot. We also used tape attached to the floor to display the range of motion of the robot. In a food factory, contamination by foreign substances can lead to the most serious accidents, so we want to avoid attaching tape or stickers as much as possible. This is because where there is transportation work performed using hand lifts and there are workers coming and going, tape and stickers can deteriorate and may peel off and become a cause of foreign substance contamination. When we were looking for a solution to these issues, we were introduced to LED Linear Lighting by SUN-WA TECHNOS CORPORATION, which is a special agency of Stanley Electric and also a trading partner of our company.
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What was the feedback from the workers on site after the installation?
Mr. K
Until now, one female worker had been working in this workplace, but the introduction of this collaborative robot has made it possible for us to reduce the labor required. We were also able to increase the stacking of products from seven tiers to eight tiers, so it was also possible to increase the efficiency of our transportation and warehouse storage. It is difficult work to repeatedly lift and place the products, which weigh 10 kg or more. The workers were pleased with the automation of the work as it freed them from heavy labor and made it easier to perform the work. It seems that the light from LED Liner Lighting also became a reassuring factor.
- So, you were able to save manpower, implement measures against heavy labor, and even improve your work efficiency.
How was the support from our company up to the installation of the product?
Mr. Y
We have been working with Stanley Electric on various new initiatives such as disinfection products. In addition to the performance of the equipment, we are also extremely grateful for the support and product suggestions provided from the perspective of our company.
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Thank you very much. We are also very impressed with NIPPN too, because you always create new ideas for the utilization of light from the unique perspective of a comprehensive food manufacturer.
Do you have any requests for anything new you would like to do with light?
Mr. Y
In the factories of the near future, I think there will be more robots such as AGVs and AMRs travelling around and transporting products automatically without human assistance.
I am also imagining that we will want to attach lights to robots such as those to ensure safety.
Mr. H
I would like to use light to slow down the cars driving within the grounds of the plant. There are various things I would like to try doing with the help of light.
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Those examples are exactly the scenes we would like customers to use our products for.
I look forward to continuing working with you to realize things that are only possible with light.
Thank you very much for installing our products and for cooperating with this interview.
I also asked the three employees about their backgrounds and about what they find rewarding in their work, so I will describe some areas that made a particular impression on me personally.
** Mr. K, who has been with the company for seven years and works from the perspective of the manufacturing workplaces **
"When introducing new equipment, I strive to fully understand which equipment for the intended purpose would be ideal for the manufacturing workplace before I communicate it to the workers."
** Mr. Y, who also has experience in quality control and equipment maintenance as a manager **
"When I was stationed at a plant in the U.S., I learned that rather than performing our work alone, it is important that we communicate and cooperate with foreign staff members, who are from different cultures and languages. Since then, when I take on any new initiative, I make an effort to collaborate not only within the department, but also with other departments and plants."
** Mr. H, who worked as a link between the plant and other departments when he was a young employee **
"In my day-to-day work, I strive to face the people I work with and our customers head-on in order to build a relationship of trust with them."
I felt that all three of the employees value "human connections" in their work. The management philosophy of NIPPN CORPORATION is that "The NIPPN Group contributes to the realization of a sustainable society by pursuing the well-being (happiness, health, and smiles) of people. "I felt that in order to deliver products that bring happiness, health, and smiles to "people," they are starting by also valuing "people" as they perform their work.
Thank you for reading to the end.
The NIPPN Group company NIPPN Engineering CO., LTD. exhibited at FOOMA JAPAN 2025, which is one of the world's largest comprehensive food manufacturing exhibition, held at Tokyo Big Sight. In addition to the collaborative robot covered in this report, LED Linear Lighting was also exhibited and was shown to a large number of visitors through demonstrations. Thank you to everyone who visited the venue.
【NIPPN CORPORATION】
Head office: 8, Kojimachi 4 chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
TEL: +81-(0)3-3511-5319 (Main number for Plant Engineering Div., Production & Technology Dept.)
【Cooperating company: SUN-WA TECHNOS CORPORATION】
Head Office: Tokyo Square Garden 18F, 3-1-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0031, Japan
TEL: +81-(0)3-5202-4011 (Main)
LEDSFOCUS series LEDSFOCUS LINE
LED Linear Lighting / LLM1389Ａ
Low power linear lighting with efficiently focused narrow light, housed in a compact body