Universal Robots has appointed seasoned tech and automation professional Peter Hern to the newly created role of ANZ country manager to help drive the uptake of collaborative robots (cobots) in Australia.
Hern has held regional management positions with ABB, Rockwell Automation and Baldor Electric, and he will lead customer support, sales and partner development in Australia and New Zealand to promote the benefits of Universal's cobots for small-to-medium sized manufacturers (SMBs).
In addition to customer support, lead generation, sales and marketing activities, Hern will be tasked with assisting with the commercial development of channel partners across the region, and managing business planning and commercial results for the region.
Australia is one of its top-performing markets in the APAC region, as manufacturers embrace cobots to boost their productivity and competitiveness, and the company has seen a real upswing in sales in Australia the last six months, Hern told Food & Drink Business.
Unlike other robotics companies, he says, Universal Robots' development efforts are focused solely on cobots, which are small, user-friendly, reasonably priced, flexible industrial robots that have been specially designed to work safely alongside humans.
The cobots, which come in a variety of sizes and configurations, can help SMBs improve productivity, efficiency and consistency, Hern says, and although currently most local customers are using them to automate end-of-line pick, place and palletising, many other uses are emerging.
“Any element that involves a repetitive action that is potentially dangerous or dirty or even dull is an ideal solution in a smaller business where space is a limitation and where people are working nearby," Hern says.
“We believe the future is extremely bright for collaborative robots in Australia. We have a clear and well-defined sweet spot for small and medium enterprises with 20 to 100 staff that need a low cost method to improve productivity and grow output.”
Universal Robots general manager, Southeast Asia and Oceania Sakari Kuikka described Hern's wealth of experience and expertise in the automation industry as exceptional.
“As we look to grow our presence in Australia and New Zealand, his guidance will be essential. We’re very happy to welcome him aboard our team at Universal Robots and look forward to working with him to shape our vision for the region.”
