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Otto Motors partners with systems integrators in Ireland, Netherlands, Germany

Canadian AMR vendor reaches toward global market for automated material handling.

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Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
By Supply Chain Quarterly StaffJun 25, 2021
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
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Autonomous mobile robot (AMR) vendor Otto Motors is steering its material handling bots toward a global market of manufacturing facilities and warehouses thanks to a new set of partnerships with systems integrators, the Canadian firm said Thursday.

Kitchener, Ont.-based Otto Motors is the industrial robotics division of parent company Clearpath Robotics Inc., a provider of self-driving material handling equipment.

The firm has now gained entry to new international markets thanks to its partnerships with DesignPro Automation in Ireland and Romias Robotics in The Netherlands as well as its global integrator partner Grenzebach Group in Germany. Those partners join Otto’s existing network of Bastian Solutions, which is a unit of forklift and automotive giant Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO), Altech in Japan, ADDE in Australia, CR Automation in New Zealand, and Pulse Integration in North America.

Together, those partners say they can help their customers stay productive despite widespread labor shortages in many industry sectors. “The value of the human worker has never been more pronounced, nor as scarce,” Romias CEO and Founder Martijn Jansen said in a release. “Our partnership with OTTO Motors will help to introduce strategic automation into our customers’ workflow so that workers can avoid tasks that are dirty, dangerous, or dull.”

In addition to its marketing expansion, Otto also announced it has completed third party assessments for the new AMR safety standard called ANSI/RIA R15.08, which covers the safe use of autonomous robots in industrial environments such as manufacturing facilities, distribution and fulfillment centers, and warehouses.

“The warehousing fulfillment and manufacturing industries are at a crossroads where supply can only meet demand through more efficient and effective automation,” David Schwebel, executive vice president at Grenzebach Group, said in a release. “Our partnership with Otto Motors is another large step forward in evolving our customers’ logistical arenas with strategic automations.”

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