Colgate-Palmolive to Employ Smart Sensor Tech from Emerson

Emerson announced that it is collaborating with consumer products manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive Company to reduce wasted energy in Colgate’s product packaging facilities and contribute to its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in operations by 2040. Using data from Emerson’s advanced sensor technologies and analytics, Colgate says it has already seen a 15% reduction in energy usage on several toothpaste and toothbrush packaging lines and expects even greater energy savings as the technology is rolled out more widely.

The project is part of Colgate’s digital transformation program and uses specialized AVENTICS pneumatic sensors and IIoT-enabled software architecture to monitor compressed air flow in real time to identify leaks, optimize pneumatic processes and improve airflow efficiency. Given the heavy reliance on pneumatics in large-scale consumer goods production, reducing the amount of energy associated with compressed air contributes not only to sustainability efforts, but also to overall equipment health and reliability.