Hatco Corp. |
Nala Robotics
Milwaukee |
Arlington Heights, Illinois
Innovation: Autonomous, robotic pizza-making system
Founders: Gordon and LaReine Hatch | Ajay Sunkara
Founded: 1950 | 2017
hatcocorp.com |
nalarobotics.com
Two companies serving the food industry have come together to develop a compact, fully autonomous, robotic pizza-making system designed for convenience stores, quick service restaurants, ghost kitchens and other commercial settings.
Milwaukee-based food service equipment maker
Hatco Corp. and its
Ovention ovens brand are working with Arlington Heights, Illinois-based
Nala Robotics to perfect the robotic pizza-making system, which was on display for the first time at a national food service convention held at the start of this year.
The system combines Nala Robotics' fully automated Pizzaiola pizza maker with Ovention's Shuttle oven and Hatco's Flav-R 2-Go Pizza Locker System, all contained within a 10-foot-by-10-foot space.
Here’s how the process works: Pizzaiola’s AI-based robotic arm selects and presses the dough, adds the sauce, cheese and toppings, and places the pizza in the Ovention oven to be cooked. Once ready, the robotic arm removes the pizza from the oven, slices it, boxes it and loads it into Hatco's pizza locker system to keep warm. The system can be configured to include variations of dough, sauces and toppings.
“From the middle part of the process – cooking – to the customer-facing and interactive part, we have those components covered. Nala just needed to process the pizza in between,” said
Casey Reilley, director of Ovention, Inc. “… We’ve worked with other automation companies in the past, especially since COVID, that kind of work has escalated a lot.”
Ovention is focused on countertop, ventless and auto-load/unload technology solutions for the food industry. Several of its customers are gas station convenience store operators who are increasingly seeking automated food programs for their profitability, Reilley said.
“Food costs are low, and you can charge a decent price for products,” he said. “Gas is getting them there but it’s the food and beverages that are making them money.”
Hatco’s locker system – geared toward pick-ups, third-party delivery and to-go orders – have several custom features. The systems include QR code readers and touchscreen controls that simplify the ordering process for customers and operators. Each locker also has a timer to hold pizzas for up to 45 minutes, with a preset temperature that can be adjusted. Customers can choose from a built-in, countertop or floor mount model, based on available space.
Nala’s Pizzaiola is a fully automated, multi-cuisine, seven-axis robot designed for restaurateurs who want to expand their menu. The system can respond to spoken menu orders or operational commands. From start to finish, a cooked pizza is available for pickup within five to six minutes. All that’s left for the user to handle is cleaning the machine and refilling ingredients, along with regular maintenance.
"This compact solution allows operators to easily increase revenue 24 hours a day, seven days a week with minimal or no additional labor costs," said
Ajay Sunkara, chief executive officer of Nala Robotics.
The idea to develop the automated pizza-making system to fit within a 10-foot-by-10-foot space was spurred by the fact that most convenience store operators don’t have a large physical footprint. Even if a convenience store does have a large amount of square footage to work with, there is no guarantee the owner will be able to find an employee to operate the system.
“All these big chains are struggling for labor and consistency with that labor,” said Reilley. “A robot isn’t going to call in sick, so there’s definitely some interest.”
A final consumer product is still several months away from going to market as both Nala and Ovention seek further customer feedback to refine the design of their pizza-making system.
"Hatco has been providing innovative solutions to the foodservice operator since 1950," said
Mark Pumphret, vice president of North American sales at Hatco. "Our partnership with Nala Robotics and Ovention takes food service innovation to the next level."
