SCHUNK inaugurates Collaborative Laboratory: “CoLab” in Querétaro

SCHUNK opened the doors of its Collaborative Laboratory: "CoLab" , for all of Mexico, Central  and South America , with which the company seeks to bring its technological solutions, such as peripheral devices for robot dolls, to potential customers in sectors such as pharmaceuticals. , electronic, food, metalworking, aerospace and automotive, among others.

Ángel Valle , sales manager for Mexico and Latin America at SCHUNK , spoke about the scope of the space, which will allow the German company to reaffirm its leadership in the region and reach customers who have recently opted to automate their processes or adopt more solutions of industry 4.0 .

“What we are looking for is to bring these designs, these solutions, to more users. […] Any user with any difficulty in something that has to do with material handling, manipulation, deburring… with end effectors of robots, final arms, we support them. We have the installed capacity to work with robots from three to 80 kilos”, said the manager in an interview. 

The CoLab  has various industrial robots and cobots that provide solutions to common practical problems in industries installed in Mexico, Central  and South America , regions that SCHUNK serves from Mexico.

According to Ángel Valle, 85% of its users are located within the country, the rest are in other Latin American nations.

TRENDS

This collaborative lab seeks to capitalize on the industry's growing demand for greater technology adoption. And it is that, in the region, the interviewee observed, it was the companies in the automotive sector that mostly automated their processes; however, the arrival of new players and the various challenges generated by the pandemic have led other industries to innovate.

“In the automotive industry it is very common for robots to exist, it is an industry with a lot of development in automated processes; however, it is increasingly common to see [demand in] the electronic part, there no human being can touch the piece, because you can damage it, simply because of the static discharge that you have in your body you can damage a component. There we must have very high developments”, explained the sales manager.

The arrival of more companies with these characteristics in the country, as well as the relocation of supply chains in Mexico , have led companies like SCHUNK to have higher response times to satisfy the market. 

SCHUNK managed to maintain this pace and reported, in 2021, a 17% growth in sales in Mexico and the rest of Latin America (excluding Brazil ). The expectation for this year, added the manager, is a growth of over 20 percent.

BENEFITS 

These figures continue to rise mainly because companies that integrate new technologies realize the benefits of automation, including cost reduction,  increased productivity, availability, reliability, safety  and performance , which leads them to acquire more machinery and state-of-the-art equipment, as well as to integrate specialized technical personnel for handling and maintenance or to train existing talent. 

“Here we really have two families of robots: industrial robots and collaborative robots. The part of collaborative robots has had a boom in the last eight years, which have come with an exponential growth, especially looking for that work shoulder to shoulder with the human being, because if you are going to develop a collaborative application, then nothing the more you need the robot, you have to add the components, the fastening, everything that is going to be installed in the operation, so that it complies with the collaborative standards”, added Ángel Valle . 

“It is true that you have to make an investment to have the latest technology equipment; however, what we are looking for is to send you that precise information: you will recover the investment in as many months or even in as many pieces . The robot also demands more trained personnel. Suddenly we have the taboo of saying: if I put a robot I'll take someone's job . Not necessarily, because you have to give the robot maintenance, service. Now you need the inspectors, the supervisor, to have a higher level of knowledge”. 

This specialization, as well as the installed technological capacity, helps the country to develop and “compete in the big leagues”, concluded the SCHUNK representative. 

+ INFO  

Location: Av. Pirineos #513-Nave 6, Parque Industrial Benito Juárez, CP 76120 Querétaro, Qro.

Telephone: 442 2117800

Email: info@mx.schunk.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/schunk-intec-mexico_schunk-schunkmaezxico-equippedbyschunk-activity-6905221682357706752-PqRJ

Web: www.schunk.com