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Teamwork – the A-MATE has been welcomed by Applied Integration and K . Hartwall teams . From left : Chloe Williams from Applied Integration ( AI ), Paul Straw of K . Hartwall ( KH ), Peter Moore of AI , Garry Lofthouse of AI , Alycia Mcquillin of KH , Michael Fey of KH , Jonathan Bland of KH , Ville Hintsala of KH and Susan Gabriel of KH .
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
Agility of A-MATE mobile robot hailed by Tees and Finnish partners
A n alliance between Teesside and Finland has brought a gamechanging mobile robot into the world of palletizing .
Stokesley-based automated solution provider Applied Integration has teamed up with Finnish logistics firm K . Hartwall to bring the A-MATE to our region .
The A-MATE is an intelligent mobile robot designed to transport pallets and containers around production and logistics environments , without the need for an on-board operator .
Its incredible agility , both parties agree , make it something of a gamechanger , particularly when operating in areas where space is at a premium .
And Peter Moore , Applied
Integration ’ s robotics and automation business and strategy manager , says he ’ s delighted to be working with a Finnish company which this year celebrates 90 years in the logistics business .
He said : “ K . Hartwall is a very wellknown supplier to a lot of logistics industries .
“ With all those years of experience of manual handling behind them , they have now generated a very effective range of AMRs ( Autonomous Mobile
Robots ), including the A-MATE .
“ People are already seeing the benefits of it , particular in areas where tight spaces are involved – in some cases , it ’ s the only realistic solution to use .
“ Agility is a big thing . Its ability to move in tight places , narrow aisles and its intelligence in terms of picking up objects that have been placed manually but need to be picked up autonomously is second to none , really .”
160 | Tees Business