Neuronics Strengthens its Position in the International Market for “Intelligent Personal Roboticsâ
• Good business development and an extremely positive outlook
• Strong production partner (Jossi AG) for manufacture of the Katana robotic arm
• Internal steps towards expansion and further professionalism on all levels
• Expansion of the “Intelligent Personal Robotics by Neuronics” brand
• Impressive list of customers
Headquartered in Zürich, Neuronics AG is a pioneer in that branch of automation where humans and robotics work in harmony. The company’s “Intelligent Personal Robotics by Neuronics” brand is rapidly gaining recognition on the international stage. The robotic arms, developed and produced by Neuronics in Switzerland can operate in conjunction with humans, are intelligent, simple to operate and mobile. As a result, many completely new application possibilities beyond the capability of traditional industrial robots are now opening up. The company’s core product “Katana” is an arm weighing a mere 4 kg that can be equipped with sensors so that it can detect objects intelligently. Alternatively, a desired sequence of movement can be programmed by operator manipulation of the arm in teach-in mode.
Mars robotNeuronics sells around 100 robots per year. Its declared aim is to increase this by a factor of ten over the next five years. According to founder and managing director Dr. Hansruedi Früh, the market potential is enormous – as backed up by the latest market studies. Neuronics will therefore be more aggressively active than ever before in the European and World markets.
This intensified effort requires a differentiated growth management and also new requirements in all areas. Recent months have seen a new emphasis on professionalism in both logistics and in marketing and sales:
• Production has been completely outsourced to a renowned technology company – Jossi AG, in Frauenfeld. This will enable Neuronics to address the planned rapid growth in turnover, while guaranteeing the highest standards of production and assembly.
• Development of global markets is the company’s foremost objective: fulfilment of this ambitious target will be the responsibility of Christoph Staub, an experienced marketing and sales professional, who joined Neuronics in September 2006 from the Group Management of Romaco AG, a worldwide leader in process and packaging equipment. Prior to that, Mr Staub held senior positions in internationally active companies in the medical devices, capital and consumer goods sectors.
• In December 2006, Cordula Kaiss-Hess, Meilen ZH, became chairwoman of the board of directors of Neuronics AG. This has enabled company founder Dr. Hansruedi Früh to relinquish his dual role to concentrate fully on his function as managing director and, together with his growing team, drive the dynamic expansion of the company and the continuing development of the unique range of Neuronics products. Through her company Kamako Beteilungen AG, Cordula Kaiss has a strong record of investing in young companies and mentored them through expansion and growth. Having studied political science at the University of St. Gallen, she later graduated with the diploma KMU HSG and has been a member of the board of directors of Neuronics for two years.
• The newest generation of the Katana became commercially available in December 2006.
Katana 1.2 boasts impressive new functionality to simplify the automation of a wide range of applications, building on the features of its predecessors (including distributed intelligence, mobility and complete safety):
- Integrated real time operating system. This is used to autonomously implement a user program in Katana, which is compiled by means of user-friendly operating software. System start and stop is controlled in day-to-day operating via an on/off switch.
- 24 V motors and new controllers have replaced the earlier 12 V versions to increase the efficiency of the robotic arm. Internal communication is now handled by a more powerful CAN bus interface.
- Support is provided via industrial Ethernet – Profinet, Ethernet Powerlink EtherCat – USB and various bus systems.
- Integrated web server, which facilitates remote maintenance and programming.
The Neuronics development team is fast becoming one of the best in the world. Over the last two years the company has steadily expanded its R&D team, recruiting leading experts for the development of the new generation of Katana products. They are supported by a young team of programmers and engineers as well as by intensive collaboration with Swiss and international universities and specialist institutions. Over the same period, Neuronics has added numerous large Swiss and European corporations to its list of customers, including Maxon Motor, Mettler Toledo, Ypsomed, Inficon, BMW, EADS, Montblanc, Unilever and many others. In addition to its core European markets, territories such as Japan, South-East Asia and North and South America are playing an increasingly important role for Neuronics and negotiations to establish new sales channels via appropriate partners are underway in a number of markets.
The home market remains an important focal point, with high potential for significant further development in the Swiss and German markets, thanks to the flexibility of the Katana. This unique robotic arm can be profitably deployed by almost any manufacturing company – large or small – to undertake repetitive or potentially injurious human tasks at manual workstations. Due to its compact design, the Katana can be easily accommodated at existing operator workstations, allowing user companies to increase competitiveness while delivering a qualitatively improved level of craftsmanship.
Other quickly growing markets for Neuronics products are those of service robotics and training. The performance of the Katana is unequalled, whether integrated on a mobile platform as a manipulator, or as the core of an automation training system.
Neuronics is the worldwide leader in the supply of IPR (Intelligent Personal Robotics) Automation Solutions for industry, service robotics, research and training. Control systems harness the most sophisticated algorithms from the field of artificial intelligence, with the objective of delivering rapid programmability and maximum simplification of tasks via the most versatile robotics.
Contact
Christoph Staub
Head of Marketing & Sales
Neuronics AG
P: +41 (0)44 445 16 40
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