Automation Canada Quarterly Volume 1 Issue 1 - 11

Universal Robots Helps Manufacturers Meet New-Year Goals
During "National Cobot Awareness Month" in January
Cobots help manufacturers meet New Year's resolutions
Most of us start the New Year with resolutions to improve our health
and well-being, to better manage our money, to be more productive
and satisfied, to help others, and to broaden our horizons and learn
something new. Cobots can help manufacturers and their valued
employees accomplish those goals.
The collaborative robot pioneer and market front runner declares
January to be "National Cobot Awareness Month," prompting
manufacturers to discover cobots as the solution to hiring woes
and productivity goals-all with a jump-start on return of
investment before year-end.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, January 9, 2019. January is traditionally a month
for new hope and new energy to meet life and business goals. But for
manufacturers facing a new year with the lowest unemployment rate
in more than five decades, it can be a tough time to expect workers to
come back with enthusiasm from holiday celebrations to dull and
menial tasks. That makes January an ideal time for National Cobot
Awareness Month, says Stu Shepherd, regional sales director of
Universal Robots (UR) Americas division. "It's been more than 10 years
since Universal Robots sold the world's first commercially viable
collaborative robot, but the cobot market is still largely untapped. By
making January National Cobot Awareness Month, we want to send a
signal to manufacturers that cobots are here to solve the monotonous
tasks they simply can't staff. With an average payback period of only
six to eight months due to increased productivity, quality, and
consistency, they can make their investment back and then some
before year end if they start now."

C A N A D I A N A U TO M AT I O N

While cobots' built-in safety systems that allow them to work
side-by-side with employees was the defining feature of collaborative
robots, UR has expanded that definition to include user-friendliness,
simple set-up, flexibility for easy re-deployment, and affordability.
Today, UR cobots allow employees to move from repetitive, low-value
tasks to higher-value activities that increase productivity and quality
as well as work conditions.
"We've been the frontrunner's of collaborative robotics since the
term was adopted. While safety is imperative, that's simply the cost of
entry into the cobot market now," says Shepherd. "We believe that
being collaborative is just as much about being accessible, lowering
the automation barrier by placing robots within reach of
manufacturers who never thought they could deploy robots due to
cost and complexity."
One such manufacturer was Toolcraft, a machine shop in Seattle, WA,
that found itself at a crossroad when a large order prompted the
company to add a third shift for 24/7 production. "Nobody wants to
run on third shift around here. When you put an ad out, you're not
getting very many responses," says Steve Wittenberg, director of
operations at Toolcraft, who is in an area with three percent
unemployment. Toolcraft started looking at different automation
options, initially considering traditional industrial robots.

VISIT UNIVERSAL ROBOTS

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

11
https://blog.universal-robots.com/ https://www.universal-robots.com/about-universal-robots/news-centre/universal-robots-makes-january-national-cobot-awareness-month/
Automation Canada Quarterly Volume 1 Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automation Canada Quarterly Volume 1 Issue 1
