FTS
40 years of transport robotics at EK Automation
The development from the first automated series industrial trucks to intelligent transport robotics solutions is closely linked to the company history of E&K Automation GmbH from Rosengarten. Founded in 1980 in Buchholz in der Nordheide, the engineering firm Eilers, which was renamed Eilers & Kirf GmbH four years later, specialized in the process automation of internal material flows right from the start. With the partnership with Jungheinrich for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) established in 1988 and the subsequent takeovers of the AGV business of Demag Jungheinrich FTS GmbH and Indumat GmbH & Co KG, the AGV division of Linde Material Handling at the time, EK Automation established itself as a leading global developer and supplier of high-tech transport robotics.
To date, the company has installed over 10,000 vehicles in more than 1,000 systems worldwide and has played a key role in shaping the technological development of AGVs. In four decades of company history, EK Automation has repeatedly set new standards with innovative developments: EK Automation was a pioneer in the automation of series industrial trucks, was the first AGV manufacturer to bring contour navigation to market maturity, was the first company to integrate 3D point clouds into dynamic AGV simulations, defined the new industry benchmark for platform AGVs with the ultra-flat transport robot FAST MOVE and, most recently, was able to demonstrate the error-proof, automated stacking of unstable loads in an industrial application on the basis of 3D object recognition.
Intelligent transport robots are a key technology of Industry 4.0 and form the central nervous system of the fully networked intralogistics of the future. AGVs from EK Automation are already moving all kinds of transported goods in all intralogistics environments worldwide and are increasingly replacing conventional conveyor technology and manual material handling. "We are convinced that AGVs will be the predominant means of transportation in intralogistics in a few years' time," says CEO Andreas Böttner (pictured). "Our latest generation of AGVs represent what is technically possible today. Our current research projects are already several steps ahead, anticipate future trends and will define the next evolutionary stage of transport robotics. Pushing the boundaries of what is possible and making the impossible possible for our customers - that is what drives us every day. Above all, we always promise to deliver the best solution for each customer, one that is precisely tailored to their needs."
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