TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — I-Mei will integrate advanced technologies, including robotic dogs and smart cold-chain systems, at its new Kaohsiung facility to enhance food production and safety.
On Friday, I-Mei held a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility, which will also feature an agricultural processing center. The company plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$63 million) in the project, which is scheduled for completion in 2028.
The facility will deploy robotic dogs in cold storage areas to perform inspections and inventory tasks. Equipped with infrared thermal imaging and sensors, the robots can monitor freezers around the clock, track temperatures, detect odors, and identify unusual equipment noises. The technology aims to reduce personnel risk while improving operational oversight.
The robotic dogs can also autonomously navigate between storage shelves, the company said. Using an AI-powered system, they can read product batch numbers and expiration dates as well as transmit the data to a cloud-based management platform, reducing the time and labor required for manual inventory checks.
The company noted the facility’s smart cold-chain system includes automated temperature control for storage and monitoring of transport vehicles. By combining IoT technology with fleet management, it tracks temperatures and issues real-time alerts for unusual temperature changes.
Energy-saving equipment, including solar panels to supply part of the power for cold-chain operations, will be a key feature of the facility. In addition, I-Mei will work with farmers in Kaohsiung and Pingtung to deliver newly harvested agricultural products directly to the facility, shortening transportation distances to cut carbon emissions while preserving freshness.
I-Mei Foods operates factories in Taoyuan’s Nankan and Longtan Districts and in Yunlin’s Douliu City, with some facilities equipped for biotechnology manufacturing and R&D.
As Taiwan’s food sector continues to transform — with increased adoption of AI technologies and expanded cold-chain storage — the company hopes its Kaohsiung facility will become one of the nation’s key hubs for low-temperature logistics and agricultural processing, helping drive the development of the food industry in the south.
* I-Mei is the parent company of Taiwan News
