Lincoln firm teams up with Chinese robotics specialist

One of the world’s leading robotics companies has announced a new partnership with Lincolnshire based OW Robotics (OWR) in what has been described a potential shake-up for UK warehouse automation.

Chinese manufacturer Hikrobot develops robots, machine vision and industrial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Now, the company is teaming up with Lincoln-headquartered OWR, the sister company of OrderWise, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) and warehouse management software (WMS) providers.

The partnership with Hikrobot is set to make robotic automation more accessible for small and medium businesses, as well as larger organisations, says OWR.

At launch, a range of four Hikrobot goods-to-person, a-to-b and production line solutions are available. The line-up includes Hikrobot’s new CTU robot and omnidirectional Forklift Mobile Robot (FMR) which just weeks ago won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award.

Shawn Huo, Hikrobot’s general manager for overseas business, said: “OWR has an exceptional reputation and with decades of experience in the warehouse and order fulfillment space, we’re really excited to be working in partnership. With a really strong heritage in delivering warehouse operations for 3PL, wholesale and retail customers; and developing WMS and ERP software, this is a natural alliance which will break down barriers to bring game-changing robotic automation to more UK warehouses.”

Fully integrated with OWR software, sales orders can trigger robots to collect specific racks; and manufacturing requests can automatically mobilise the production line. Robots jump into action as soon as an instruction is received reducing delay and improving order accuracy.

David Hallam, chief executive of OWR said: “Ecommerce has experienced a huge surge as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has brought into stark relief the tremendous resilience of the supply chain; but it’s also identified areas where investment could significantly increase capacity and productivity.

“Thanks to our new partnership with Hikrobot, an integrated warehouse solution with the world’s best robotic automation is no-longer out of reach for many. Faster fulfillment and increased accuracy is now possible without the need for expensive infrastructure and it’s all achievable whilst reducing operational costs too.”