Joint effort brings new line of autonomous material handling vehicles supported by the same UniCarriers reliability
MARENGO, Ill. – UniCarriers Americas (UCA) today announced its collaboration with Vecna Robotics, a leader in autonomous material handling solutions. Through this joint effort, UCA’s industry-leading reliability will now be matched with leading-edge technology to advance a line of self-driving vehicles for warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing applications.
Vecna Robotics will use UCA models, including the center rider pallet SPXe and electric tow tractor TGXe, and equip them with Vecna Robotics’ advanced autonomous navigation technology, learning algorithms and workflow orchestration software to turn them into Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR). AMRs are capable of moving bulk material through dynamic warehouse environments. The new line of vehicles are capable of both vertical and horizontal movements and can carry capacities up to 10,000 pounds.
“As customers look to automate their material handling processes, UCA is committed to leveraging our best-in-class manufacturing capabilities and industry-leading reliability for automation companies,” said Brian Markison, senior director of national accounts and AGV sales at UCA. “The AMR market is emerging, and these technology providers are looking for material handling solutions to scale production and provide aftermarket support. These are the types of assets that UCA can bring to the table.”
The two models will also be integrated with Vecna Robotics’ pivot.al™ orchestration system, which is an AI-based fleet manager that analyzes operations to coordinate and distribute real-time tasks amongst employees, robots and associated systems based on capabilities, location and availability. This allows environments to adapt their workflows and run efficiently through varied levels of demand and operational changes.
“Vecna Robotics’ collaboration with UCA has come at the perfect time,” said Michael Baier, Director of Hardware Engineering for Vecna Robotics. “Our customer base is rapidly expanding. Companies are no longer asking themselves if they should automate, but rather when. UCA is part of the 4th largest forklift provider in the world, giving us the ability to meet increasing demand and scale with impact.”
“This opportunity is just one of many automation solutions we will help deliver to the market, and as a corporation, we are enthusiastic about elevating our offerings and taking our business to the next level,” Markison concludes.
ABOUT UNICARRIERS AMERICAS CORPORATION
UniCarriers Americas Corporation (UCA) designs, manufactures and supports a complete line of material handling equipment that offers second-to-none reliability, higher productivity and lower total operational costs. UCA has seven factory-owned locations across Wisconsin and New England – Capital Equipment and Handling and New England Industrial Truck. UCA sells and supports UniCarriers-branded forklifts and supports legacy products under the Nissan Forklift, TCM, Atlet and Barrett brands. Part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and headquartered in Marengo, Illinois, UCA has a network of more than 130 authorized dealerships with nearly 250 locations across North, Central and South America. For more information, visit UniCarriersAmericas.com.
About Vecna Robotics
Vecna Robotics delivers autonomous material handling solutions via self-driving vehicles powered by their proprietary continuously improving software, pivot.al™ orchestration engine, and 24/7 customer service team. Vecna Robotics’ solutions deliver value for customers in the distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing sectors by automating cross-docking, line-side delivery, replenishment, case-picking, kitting, goods-to-person, person-to-good, and oversized/non-standard SKU delivery. Vecna Robotics’ technology goes beyond traditional automation and focuses on maximizing human and robot capability to create fulfilling jobs, increase productivity, and encourage innovation.
UniCarriers® is a registered trademark of UniCarriers Corporation.
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