Scottish manufacturing to get boost from Universal Robots & SP Automation
11 March 2020
Universal Robots is announcing a new partnership with Dundee-based distributor, SP Automation & Robotics. This is Universal Robots’ first partnership with a Scottish distributor and represents a commitment to further strengthening its UK presence.
The new partnership will see SP Automation & Robotics become the sole Scottish distributor of Universal Robots’ collaborative robots (cobots), in a deal potentially worth £1million in the first year of trading alone.
Mark Gray, UK Sales Manager at Universal Robots, said: “Productivity and labour shortages are at the forefront of every business’ mind. This partnership with SP Automation gives us an opportunity to show businesses of all sizes that implementing cobots can bring amazing benefits in production and cost-savings. Cobots are designed to work alongside the existing workforce by relieving them of difficult, dull and dangerous tasks. This offers the existing workforce a chance to upskill and take on more fulfilling work, as so many of our UK customers have already discovered.”
Roy Henderson, Director at SP Automation & Robotics said: “Cobots can be adapted and easily programmed to complete an incredibly wide variety of tasks; everything from packaging and assembly to quality inspection and machine tending. Anyone with no previous robot experience can have one operational and functioning out of the box within 2-3 hours.”
The distribution licence and increased scope of business will see SP Automation & Robotics employing an in-house team of 36, increasing their annual turnover by 20%.
Andrew Clouston, Sales Engineer at SP Elements, has been recruited to drive the division. He said: “Commercially viable cobots solve the monotonous tasks business simply can’t staff. They streamline repetitive industrial processes allowing employees to move from repetitive, low-value tasks to higher-value activities that increase productivity and working conditions.
“The SP Elements approach will allow customers, who would normally see the cost prohibitive to embrace automation by integrating cost-effective solutions by themselves. It also allows effective upscaling as the increase in capacity and productivity levels means they can fulfil larger orders and complete more tasks in the same timeframe.”
Join Universal Robots and SP Automation & Robotics at Glynhill Hotel & Leisure Club, Glasgow on 18 March, where they’ll be joined by partners exhibiting their automation solutions. They will be joined by Sick, SKF Robotics, Robotiq, Piab and Igus, who offer different end-effectors and tooling.
Visitors will have the chance to programme cobots for themselves. Sign up here to attend.