Regional director of Universal Robots Asia-Pacific, James McKew
Universal Robots has delivered its 50,000th unit to a German company, remaining at the forefront of the fastest growing segment of industrial automation.
The 50,000th cobot was handed over to VEMA technische Kunststoffteile GmbH and VEMA Werkzeug- und Formenbau GmbH located in Krauchenwies-Göggingen, Germany, during a special ceremony.
The cobot was purchased by the German manufacturer to enable higher productivity and improved employee safety.
Regional director of Universal Robots Asia-Pacific, James McKew, says this occasion showcases the company‘s commitment to the market.
“COVID-19 has certainly accelerated the need to automate and we have seen an increased demand for cobots in the ANZ market,” he says.
Collaborative robots – or cobots – remain the fastest-growing segment of industrial automation, projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30.37% between 2020 to 2025.
The unveiling of the cobot
McKew attributes this increase to a number of influences as a result of the pandemic.
“The change in labour availability due to borders being shut has certainly played a part in this uptick. Further, we have seen so many customers pivoting their production to adapt to new consumer demands. The flexibility of cobots to move from one application to another makes them very well suited for quick changeovers.”
According to McKew, other factors such as the ease and affordability of adding a cobot to the production has seen companies who need to increase productivity in the same footprint with a smaller workforce (due to social distancing requirements), embrace cobots as a cost-effective solution.
Over the past 15 years, the company has developed an entirely new market segment with a mission to enable especially small- and medium-sized companies to automate tasks they thought were too costly or complex.
Outgoing president of UR, Jurgen von Hollen hands over the 50000th cobot to Veser
VEMA was looking for a cost-effective, flexible, easy-to-use automation solution to implement, program, and manage alone.
VEMA’s new cobot will join a fleet of three other UR cobots already deployed in pick and place tasks in end-of-line applications at the company.
Managing director at VEMA GmbH, Christian Veser, is thrilled to be the recipient of the milestone cobot and explains how the cobots have enabled the company to add a third shift, now operating around the clock.
“We have enhanced our productivity remarkably and also achieved better quality,” he says.
“Our employees are freed from ergonomically straining work to focus on quality testing. In navigating Covid-19 challenges, it has also been a great advantage that the cobots don’t need to keep a safe distance or undergo quarantine. They always work!”
