OnRobot opens U.S. headquarters in Dallas

Danish robotic equipment provider OnRobot A/S said Thursday that it has opened its first U.S. office, establishing a headquarters in Dallas and announcing plans to expand its staff eight-fold within the next two years in order to keep up with hot growth forecasts for the industry.

Odense, Denmark-based OnRobot provides end-of-arm tooling such as electric grippers for collaborative robots (cobots) that are used in automated applications from materials handling and packaging to machine operation, assembly, quality control, and welding.

The firm's catalog of products includes an assortment of robot equipment—such as electric grippers, force/torque sensors, gecko grippers, and tool changers—that are designed to fit on collaborative robotic arms from manufacturers including Universal Robots, KUKA, FANUC, and Yaskawa.

Founded in 2015, the company has been growing at high speed, merging with Perception Robotics and OptoForce earlier this year, and then acquiring Purple Robotics in August. And it's not done yet. OnRobot says it plans to grow through further acquisitions in the coming years and to hire aggressively, expanding its Dallas-based staff from four employees to a range of 25 to 35 in coming months.

"North America is rapidly becoming one of our primary markets and we looked at several locations from coast to coast before settling on Dallas," Kristian Hulgard, general manager of OnRobot's Americas Division, said in a release. "Not only was it the prime location for our business, we were also pleased to see the tech boom that has been going on in the city. As more manufacturers and tech companies realize the benefit of growing their businesses in this region, OnRobot will also benefit from the quality of talent that is sure to follow."