Category: Manufacturing

After leadership additions, Adept shows positive signs

After suffering through what Motley Fool has termed a “dismal performance” over the previous five years involving a negative 44 percent return for those maintaining an investment over that period, industrial robotics manufacturer Adept Technology is beginning to show significant signs of a turnaround. Following its financial report this week, Adept saw a jump in

Yaskawa focuses on STEM via educational robotics platform

Robotics are clearly a big part of our collective future, and young people are the future of robotics, which is why science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become a priority for so many in the industry. It’s certainly a priority for Yaskawa Motoman, which sees a viable market for robotics platforms aimed at

Post-recession, manufacturers utilize robotics to stay lean

In order to survive the Great Recession, manufacturers had to get lean. Real lean. And it was painful. But here’s the good news: when things turned around, they held on to those same lean principles as they expanded, creating more efficient businesses in the process. Today they are able to maintain consistently higher levels of

2012 industrial robot sales down slightly from 2011 record

The International Federation of Robotics reported today that 159,000 industrial robots were sold in 2012 — the second highest total in history, but down slightly from 166,028 units in 2011. The decrease was mainly due to fewer sales in the electronics industry. In contrast, sales to the automotive industry rose 6 percent worldwide. Other industries

Semiconductor company builds automated warehouse

Texas Instruments announced yesterday that it has become the first semiconductor company to install the AutoStore inventory management system. The company installed AutoStore in its Singapore product distribution center, which began ramping up this week and will be in full production by September. Texas Instruments says the installation represents the first such system in Asia. It was

Automated parking company signs “transformative” deal

Boomerang Systems, which builds automated parking garages, today announced a manufacturing and licensing agreement with John Bean Technologies Corporation, a global technology solutions provider. Boomerang says the arrangement will allow the company to reduce its cost structure and improve its ability to deliver a superior product in significant volumes and expedited fashion. “This is a

Welcome to The Business of Robotics

Hello and welcome to The Business of Robotics! If you have even a passing interest in robotics, you know the field is exploding, having reached a technological tipping point that is bringing self-driving cars and robot co-workers out of the realm of science fiction and into reality. Just last week, a new $100 million dollar