Recently, Universal Robots, hereinafter referred to as UR, announced the delivery of its 50,000th UR collaborative robot, further consolidating UR's position in the industry. The 50,000th UR collaborative robot was delivered to the German manufacturer VEMA GmbH to help achieve higher productivity and improve safety. Collaborative robots are still the fastest growing part of the industrial automation field, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be 30.37% during 2020-2025.
The 50,000th UR robot
Jürgen von Hollen, President of Universal Robots
Universal Robots President Jürgen von Hollen attended the delivery ceremony held at VEMA GmbH and personally delivered the 50,000th UR collaborative robot to VEMA technische Kunststoffteile GmbH and VEMA Werkzeug-und Formenbau GmbH in Krauchenwies-Gggingen, Germany.
Jürgen von Hollen emphasized how UR established a new global distribution network, a new developer ecosystem, and finally formed a new business model. He said: "In the past 15 years, we have been working hard to develop a new market area, dedicated to helping small and medium enterprises to automate tasks they consider too expensive or complicated. UR is the first batch to enter the collaborative robot market. Manufacturers, we have done a lot of work to cultivate the market, promote standardization, and change customers' inherent impression of traditional industrial robots."
Jürgen von Hollen pointed out that VEMA GmbH is a good example of UR fulfilling its mission. He said: "VEMA GmbH has been looking for a cost-effective, flexible and easy-to-use automation solution so that they can deploy, program and manage by themselves. They found that the UR collaborative robot fully meets these requirements."
The new collaborative robot will be added to the existing automation team of VEMA GmbH. VEMA GmbH has previously deployed three UR collaborative robots to perform pick and place tasks in the end application of the production line.
Christian Veser, managing director of VEMA GmbH, said he was very happy to have this significant collaborative robot. With collaborative robots, VEMA GmbH has added a third shift, which can now run around the clock. He said: "Our productivity has been significantly improved, while quality has also improved. Our employees are freed from ergonomically stressful tasks and can focus on quality testing. In response to the challenge of COVID-19, Collaborative robots do not need to maintain a safe distance or accept isolation, they can always work, which is also a great advantage."
He added: “Our employees love these collaborative robots very much and even gave them names. The first three collaborative robots are called Elfriede, Günther and Bruno. We will name the new members after Jürgen to commemorate the UR president personally. Deliver this collaborative robot to VEMA GmbH."
Jürgen von Hollen has been with UR for four years and will leave UR at the end of 2020. He said: "I am honored to witness this milestone moment and to draw a perfect end to my tenure at the company. We have made great progress. Of course, there is still room for success and further progress. As we all know, the new collaborative robot applications can still tap into greater market potential. UR already has a solid customer base, and we continue to communicate and learn with customers, and use data-driven methods to develop our collaborative robots. I believe This method can help UR maintain its market competitiveness in the next few years."
Gregory Smith, President of Teradyne Industrial Automation Group, will temporarily serve as President of UR on January 1, 2021 until the new President is officially appointed.
Mark Jagiela, President and CEO of Teradyne, UR's parent company, said: "Thanks to Jürgen von Hollen for leading UR from a start-up to an undisputed industry leader in the field of industrial collaborative robots over the past four years. He is the next stage of UR. The development of the company has built a strong platform: a talented workforce, an active distribution and technology partner ecosystem, and a global customer base."