GS-MR ROBOTICS COMPLETE THEIR LATEST PRO: LOAD ROBOTIC INSTALLATION
As UK based GS-MR Robotics complete their latest PRO: Load robotic installation at the UK’ s Number One insulated glass unit( IGU) manufacturer we investigate how, by identifying a gap within a global industry most professionals only see through, this small robotics company took the opportunity to develop and globally patent a robotic automation process which is now portable across multiple industrial sectors.
In 2025 it’ s a revelation to discover that despite the global industrial technological advancements available, the latest automated IGU processing lines( IG line) remain reliant on a 50 + year old manual loading process that continues to create a significant amount of waste.
So the glass for that technologically advanced energy efficient double glazing you chose to upgrade to during the recent pandemic was no doubt manually loaded by an operator on minimum wage wearing a whole lot of PPE.
This is particularly surprising given automated IG lines are marketed as high tech, high speed and on some occasions fully automated.
An automated manufacturing line with a principal loading function relying on low paid manual labour doesn’ t sound very high tech at all, or safe.
Additionally, workers are also responsible for offloading the IGUs once they reach the end of the IG line, even though the glazing process can make them up to four times heavier.
We shouldn’ t therefore be surprised the glass industry is still struggling with employee recruitment and retention.
6 AUTOMATION, CONTROL & ENGINEERING