Agile Robots presents its manufacturing in Kaufbeuren

This Thursday (10.11.22) I got an insight into the production of Agile Robots at the gateway to the Allgäu. Starting at the turn of the year, production there will be ramped up successively. Before my impressions first the press release:

Robot production on the Wertach river is created - a settlement success for Kaufbeuren

Agile Robots AG made headlines in the Handelsblatt in 2021, as a robot start-up with a market valuation of over one billion dollars. Today, Agile Robots AG is an international high-tech company headquartered in Munich, with a production site in Kaufbeuren and more than 1,000 employees worldwide. The company's mission is to bridge the gap between artificial intelligence -AI- and robotics by developing systems that provide state-of-the-art whole-body force sensitivity and world-leading visual intelligence. This unique combination of technologies enables the company to provide intelligent, easy-to-use and affordable robotic solutions that enable safe human-robot interaction. The robotic arms are intended for use in industrial applications worldwide.

Since the roots of Agile Robots AG lie in the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the start-up relies on highly qualified engineering and research and thus promises to generate many promising jobs. The Kaufbeuren site, where the company has set up its production facility in the Momm Gewerbepark, is now also benefiting from this development. In recent months, the structures have been created there to ramp up production of the robot arms.

Contact with Kaufbeuren's business development department was established as early as March 2021. As a result, the settlement was supported with all municipal possibilities. Production director Mr. Stefan Schaumann agrees: "We were looking for a suitable location for a production facility that was close to our headquarters in Munich, but somewhat out of the way of the Speckgürtel. The region around Kaufbeuren convinced us right away. The planned expansion of the federal highway 12 speaks enormously for the business location. At the same time, the grown supplier industry around Kaufbeuren and the well-trained skilled workers in the region are enormously interesting for us."

In addition to engineers, skilled workers and technicians are also being sought, e.g. for electromechanical robot assembly and test equipment developers for electrical systems.

Peter Meusel, Managing Director of Agile Robots AG, gives an outlook on the goals for production in Kaufbeuren: "Now it is time to supply the European market with robots "Made in Kaufbeuren". In the next few years, we will hire another 60 colleagues here at the site to build 2,500 robots per year."

Stefan Schaumann emphasizes the innovative and future-oriented workplaces: "At Agile Robots, workplaces are created for all generations. In the in-house prototype workshop, there are not only cutting machines but also 3D printers to implement and try out ideas quickly and easily. The adjacent training center offers enough space to learn the theoretical knowledge of our products and solutions and to test practically on applications what is possible with our technology."

The Lord Mayor is delighted about this high-tech settlement in Kaufbeuren and is convinced "that robotics is an absolute growth market and that the innovations of Agile Robots AG make an important contribution to compensating in part for the shortage of labor in Germany as a manufacturing country." He wishes the founders, Dr. Zhaopeng Chen and Mr. Peter Meusel, as well as the entire team a successful future and assures Agile Robots AG of further committed support from the city of Kaufbeuren.

Impressions/ Notes

It is impressive and pleasantly down-to-earth that the high-tech robots are manufactured in the building of an old spinning mill. As Mayor Bosse explained, the spinning mill only ceased operations shortly after he took office in 2004. Ultimately, the site thus stands for the successful transformation in Bavaria. Otto Wiesheu, the former Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, was a speaker at an anniversary celebration of BayStartup, the Bavarian startup agency, a few years ago. He had founded it against the backdrop of the decline of the glass industry in the Bavarian forest. Because one thing was clear to him: What breaks away, breaks away and can only be replaced by something new. (I myself come from the Ruhr area. There, this principle was not understood for decades).

The week was reported here about the relocation of Kassow Robots . The company has a few dozen employees. Agile Robots apparently already has over 1,000, according to the press release. Since a significant part of the workforce consists of highly qualified specialists and personnel costs in China are not seriously different from those in Germany in this area, the approach of average personnel costs of 100,000 €/person and year does not seem so wrong (incl. social security contributions). Either way, the company should already be spending roughly €100 million. This implies that quite soon after market launch far more robots per year have to be sold than Kassow Robots has probably done from its foundation until today.

Agile Robots thus undoubtedly has big plans, or as Peter Meusel said, "if people in Germany think in terms of 10 robots, in China there are quickly 1,000". As confirmation of my Foxconn statements, I value the presence of an American consultant who had previously looked after the Apple supply chains in China for 20 years. He described in the conversation the sheer dimensions of the Foxconn factories. I knew that the largest production facility had 300,000 employees. But I did not know that 20 small towns with their own schools and hospitals are grouped around it. One production building is located parallel to an airport. Its length exceeds that of the runway. Unimaginable for us. And since China has the same demographic development as Germany and personnel costs are rising much faster there, sooner or later only automation can secure Foxconn's business model. If Agile Robots succeeds, then...

Mechanics should be largely exhausted

The importance of the software is also underlined by Peter Meusel's statement that the mechanics/mechatronics are largely developed and it is about the software. For more information on what Agile Robots has to offer here, please refer to the current issue of Robotics and Production (pp. 23-25). Agile Core is presented there. However, Peter Meusel also pointed out that Agile Robots will offer smaller industrial robots in addition to the AI-controlled cobots with best force-torque control. In the first step, a payload of up to 12 kg seems to be targeted.

Manufacturing

Material delivery is currently taking place and should be completed by the end of the year. Production will then begin successively. The "Yu" was not explicitly mentioned. It would not be surprising if it were to be integrated into the entire model range, i.e. sold with a different name and design. A total of 12 models are planned today - including industrial robots. These models were not discussed, but again - as at the automatica - a two-armed robot was seen. So it doesn't just have to be one-armed robots. Mobility will also come. The only thing missing is a humanoid robot. This is pure speculation and will certainly not be an issue for production in the next 1-2 years.

For them, on the other hand, the optimal framework conditions were of importance. The large hall was adapted for this purpose: Very bright LED light facilitates work, and a completely new hall floor will protect against electrostatic damage. Of importance for handling is the self-designed rack system as well as the installation of measuring stations. Unlike an automotive manufacturer like BMW, which has known its suppliers for years or even decades, Agile Robots is entering new territory here. The suppliers often are, too. This makes it all the more important to check the parts received. The number of parts varies between 400 and 600, depending on the robot model, says Stefan Schaumann during a guided tour. In the medium term, robots may also be manufactured at Agile Robots, as is the case at TQ Systems in the quite neighboring Durach. The most personnel-intensive part, however, remains the logistics. That is, goods receipt, inspection and then shipping.

While a large proportion of the German engineers come from DLR, production manager Stefan Schaumann has extensive industrial experience. In addition to Bosch, the large Hirschvogel company, which is firmly rooted in the region and can be seen as a family business in cultural terms, should be mentioned.

For such an old building, it is remarkable that the large production hall has quite few columns.

Training and demonstration room

Somewhat separated from the production are the customer rooms. Kaufbeuren thus also becomes permanently visible to third parties.

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The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/robotics project Opdra. He advises SMEs around robotics - up to 50% funding for consulting is possible. Permanently looking for interesting solutions, he has seen hundreds of applications. For this reason, his customers also include large companies that have know-how but do not know the entire market. You can find more about him here.