We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Universal Robots acquires Boston office and 20 employees of former Rethink Robotics
newsworthy

Universal Robots acquires Boston office and 20 employees of former Rethink Robotics

November 13, 2018
Ben Ames
No Comments

Robot manufacturer Universal Robots (UR) said today it will hire more than 20 employees from its former competitor Rethink Robotics, the producer of the "Baxter" and "Sawyer" collaborative robot (cobot) models that unexpectedly shut down in October.

Boston-based Rethink had landed high-profile customers such as DHL Supply Chain, which used the cobots in a pilot project for warehouse packing and packaging. However, total sales fell short, according to published reports, and the firm suddenly shut its doors last month.

Denmark-based UR, a division of industrial automation equipment vendor Teradyne Inc., will now merge its Boston office with Rethink's former headquarters in the city's Seaport district.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and UR declined to provide further details. "We cannot comment on the financial aspect of this," a UR spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "UR is acquiring Rethink's human capital and its physical location, not its [intellectual property] or any hardware/software."

However, UR said it will offer a "future-proof roadmap" for customers of Rethink's Baxter and Sawyer models, and is ready to help those customers transition to UR cobots. UR declined to comment on whether the merger would affect its future product development, but said it did not plan to change the markets it targets.

"Rethink Robotics--along with Universal Robots--has been a pioneer in driving and developing the collaborative robotics market globally," Universal Robots' President Jürgen von Hollen said in a release. "The company was always a good competitor, which helped us drive cobot awareness worldwide, and we want to make sure its customers can continue to fulfill their collaborative automation initiatives."

UR has a history of integrating its flexible, industrial, cobot arms with equipment from other providers, such as a platform announced in April that combined a robotic arm from UR with back-end software and gripper-hand equipment from RightHand Robotics Inc. and a robotic conveyor vehicle from Vecna Robotics.

In addition to merging offices and transitioning customers, UR says it will gain industry value by hiring the former Rethink employees, including their specialties in engineering, product development, and customer applications.

"Our new colleagues from Rethink have extensive expertise, knowledge and know-how not only about the technology but indeed also about the market conditions and what the customers' pain-points are," von Hollen said. "All of this will benefit our customers and partners as we face an increase in competitors due to the huge market potential for collaborative robots."

Material Handling Robotics
KEYWORDS Rethink Robotics Universal Robots
  • Related Articles

    GreyOrange opens U.S. office for fulfillment automation robots

    Universal Robots Launches New Heavy-Duty Payload Cobot for Collaborative Automation

    Boston Dynamics builds dinosaur-shaped robots for your DC

  • Related Events

    LINk2021: The Retail Supply Chain Conference

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

Project44 acquires German ocean freight tracking firm

Amazon licenses walk-through store technology to retailers

Conveyor company fought time and weather to open new factory

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

  • Growing up … and up and up: interview with Sam Bertram

  • Old Dominion adds nine freight service centers to handle business growth

Now Playing on DCV-TV

D92f0dd1 a98c 434a 9e17 30b63ee72c90

Automated Pack-out and Print-Apply System for thredUP

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
SilMan Industries designed and implemented a mixed polybag-carton system, including automated print and apply, in a new regional Fulfillment Center for thredUP, one of the world’s largest online resale platforms for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories.The Situation Secondhand clothing and online...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Using innovation to manage peak seasonal demand

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing