Tetra Pak has unveiled its next-generation automation and digitalisation portfolio, Tetra Pak Factory OS, designed to help food and beverage manufacturers move toward AI-ready operations. Announced at Gulfood Manufacturing in Dubai, the suite combines modular, open and scalable technologies to make factories smarter, more efficient and more connected.
The company’s goal is to simplify digital transformation for producers that have struggled to integrate automation across fragmented systems. A comparative study shows that highly automated beverage factories typically achieve 20% higher overall equipment effectiveness, 45 per cent less product waste and 20% fewer packaging line stops than less-automated sites. Yet many plants still face barriers such as limited digital expertise and the challenge of finding a single, end-to-end provider with deep food-industry knowledge.
Factory OS aims to close that gap by combining advanced data technologies with Tetra Pak’s experience in food and beverage processing. The platform helps producers respond to cost pressures, sustainability targets and fast-changing market demands.
At the heart of Factory OS is a data integration platform that connects equipment and systems throughout a plant. Using open architecture and common industry standards, it converts isolated data into one real-time, contextualised view. This unified perspective enables operators to monitor performance, maintain product consistency, reduce utility use and lower total cost of ownership.
Sean Sims, vice-president automation and solutions at Tetra Pak, says producers are under growing pressure. “They have to deliver more with fewer resources – less water, less energy, less waste – while maintaining quality and cutting costs,” he says. “By combining contextualised data, which is the foundation of effective AI adoption, with high-performance automation, Factory OS gives producers the confidence to act decisively in a volatile market.”
Charles Brand, executive vice-president processing solutions and equipment, says the launch signals a shift toward long-term resilience. “Factory OS is more than a technology portfolio. It represents our vision for the future of food and beverage manufacturing. Designed for the next decade and beyond, it enables producers to build factories where efficiency and sustainability work together,” he says.
The modular design lets manufacturers adopt automation and digitalisation at their own pace. A producer can start with a single process area and expand to full-site integration. Factory OS standardises data collection across all equipment, regardless of supplier or age, allowing mixed-brand factories to be managed through one platform.
Other features include a unified user interface, digital applications for real-time monitoring of materials, quality and production, and enterprise-level analytics that turn factory data into business insights.
Developed with Accenture, the platform is supported by technology partners including Siemens, Rockwell Automation and Inductive Automation. Sims says Tetra Pak’s value lies in tailoring these technologies to food production, where hygiene, traceability and energy management are critical. “Our customers want partners who understand food safety as much as automation,” he says.
Factory OS also lays the groundwork for AI-driven manufacturing. By ensuring that all data is structured and comparable, it supports predictive maintenance, self-optimising lines and real-time decision tools. The company says early adopters will be able to use machine-learning models to predict quality deviations, forecast energy demand and recommend process adjustments.
As energy prices rise, the platform helps producers identify inefficiencies such as heat loss or compressed-air leaks and quantify the benefits of corrective action. It also provides auditable data for sustainability reporting, helping businesses demonstrate progress toward carbon-reduction and resource-efficiency goals.
Factory OS is available globally and will expand through additional modules over the coming years. For food and beverage producers, it represents a move toward data-driven manufacturing, where automation, transparency and AI readiness are built into the factory from the outset.