An inspection industry innovator has closed a recent investment round with strong interest from Australian and New Zealand investors.
Invert Robotics, which builds state of the art mobile climbing robots that enable accurate remote inspection of industrial tanks, raised $NZ6.4 million from private investors and close to $1 million in crowdfunding through the Sydney-based platform Equitise.
Invert Robotics' shareholders now include the former CEO of Macquarie Group, Allan Moss, and Inception Fiduciary.
The robot maker found its footing in the NZ dairy market, but is seeking to expand into new industry sectors and geographies.
Its patented robots can inspect stainless steel, carbon fibre, aluminium and glass surfaces, and have high definition cameras and sensor technology to remotely assess plant equipment for maintenance and preventative analysis.
“Unlike other inspection methods using dyes, drones and optical or laser devices, Invert Robotic’s technology provides 360-degree diagnostics and does so in up to half the time of traditional inspections,” managing director Neil Fletcher said.
The technology is already in use in the facilities of a number of major Australian and New Zealand dairy companies and co-operatives including Fonterra, Synlait and Murray Goldburn.
Invert Robotics says it is also attracting interest across other manufacturing sectors and regions including Europe and Asia.
The company's local base is in Christchurch, and it also has an office in the Netherlands, and is preparing to open for business in Germany and Denmark.
