Compac Sorting Equipment Stays Ahead with Rockwell Automatio

Compac Sorting Equipment, a New Zealand-based manufacturer of smart produce handling solutions operating since 1984, faced growing pressure as global competition in the fruit and vegetable packing sector intensified. The company's machine designs relied on disparate components from multiple vendors, each requiring separate software tools, configuration workflows, and engineering expertise. This fragmentation drove up engineering overhead and slowed the design cycle for equipment destined for markets in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Without a more unified approach to machine control architecture, Compac risked losing competitive ground on both cost and time-to-market as the sector underwent rapid technological advancement in automation and intelligent vision systems.

Compac Sorting engaged Rockwell Automation alongside NHP Electrical Engineering Products to redesign their machine control architecture around a unified platform. The solution centered on Micro850 and Micro820 programmable logic controllers, PowerFlex 4M and 40 drives, and supporting industrial control gear — all configured through the free Connected Components Workbench Software. Rockwell Automation's Connected Components Accelerator Toolkit provided structured guidance across the full machine control application development cycle, reducing design overhead. The Micro820 PLC, chosen for smaller equipment applications, offered Ethernet capability and serial Modbus control of variable speed drives with approximately 3ms scan times. A field trial through Rockwell's One-stop Sample Shop program allowed Compac to validate the solution before committing, and NHP provided local support throughout the in-house code conversion.

The consolidated platform delivered an 80% reduction in engineering time across approximately 50 projects completed after implementation. Key outcomes included:

• 80% faster engineering — same headcount now produces control systems significantly more quickly
• Single software environment for configuring drives, PLCs, and safety components, eliminating multi-tool fragmentation
• Non-licensed software (Connected Components Workbench) distributed freely to service technicians worldwide, improving field responsiveness
• In-house code conversion completed with Rockwell Automation and NHP support, reducing reliance on external engineering resources

The modular, scalable architecture also enabled Compac to address varying plant configurations without redesigning from scratch.

• A unified software environment for PLCs, drives, and safety components can eliminate significant engineering overhead — evaluate platform consolidation before adding point solutions.
• Vendor-provided 'try before you buy' programs reduce implementation risk; insist on a structured field trial before committing to a new control architecture.
• Non-licensed or freely distributable configuration software provides a compounding advantage for OEMs with global service networks.
• Local distributor partnerships (e.g., NHP here) are critical for in-house code migration and ongoing technical support — factor this into vendor selection.
• Modular, scalable control designs pay dividends across repeat projects; the 80% time reduction compounded across 50 deployments.