Seegrid’s Robotics Business Thrives during Recession
Market down, Seegrid up. The Pittsburgh-area robotics company has been thriving through the recession. Because Seegrid’s industrial mobile robots promote efficiency and productivity, the recession has actually been an advantage to them. Their robots enable distribution centers and manufacturing facilities to save significant amounts of money, while fundamentally improving safety and process work flow.
Seegrid robots work in factories, warehouses and distribution centers to move pallets and products using a "vision" system that does not require cables or rails.
Dr. Hans Moravec and Dr. Scott Friedman co-founded Seegrid in 2003 to develop a new class of affordable industrial mobile robots that operate reliably in dynamic environments. Seegrid robots work in factories, warehouses and distribution centers to move pallets and materials around the facilities, freeing up the employees to do other work.
The robots, equipped with camera heads that have eight “eyes,” operate on software that allows them to remember and repeat a route. They do not require a cable or a track, but instead use a vision-guided system that allows them to be simply and quickly deployed and redeployed on the facility floor.
“We had a breakthrough,” Friedman says. “Engineers perfected the technology to the point that it can be used reliably and safely in industry.”
Invaluable Assistance Getting to Market
Seegrid was founded in February 2003 as a spinout of Carnegie Mellon University’s Mobile Robot Lab and was involved with Ben Franklin Technology Partners Innovation Works (BFTP/IW) center right away. Innovation Works invested $290,000 in Seegrid in a series of investments made during 2004 and 2005. Dr. Friedman says that assistance from BFTP/IW has been invaluable in bringing the technology to market. Seegrid has also aligned itself strategically with corporate partners that offer expert customer feedback and support. As a result, Seegrid was able to be more efficient in rollout and use of funds and addressing the market.
“If you are willing to listen, Innovation Works gives you great business-building advice,” Friedman says. “Rich Lunak [CEO of BFTP/IW] built a multi-million-dollar business taking robotics into a new space—hospitals. He knows the issues we face and really gets what we are doing.”
“Building a robotics company is not easy,” says Lunak. “Seegrid did a good job identifying a high-value application and coming up with an eloquent embodiment to address customer problems, and they were cash-efficient in their dollars. Their success is based on the team’s ability to efficiently use funds and strategically roll out its product.”
[Seegrid's] success is based on the team’s ability to efficiently use funds and strategically roll out its product. —Rich Lunak, President & CEO, BFTP/IW
Garnering Global Attention
Seegrid recently showcased its industrial mobile robotics technology to members of the global media during the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G-20) Summit held in September in Pittsburgh. Seegrid, in cooperation with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership, hosted visits from the media and dignitaries to demonstrate Seegrid’s robotics capabilities for supply chain and manufacturing applications.
Seegrid recently moved from its 8,000-square-foot Lawrenceville, PA office to a 30,000-square-foot facility in Findlay Township to provide additional space for increased production. As Seegrid looks to expand its presence, it also looks to expand sales. It is turning out 25 units a month at a Massachusetts facility, but Seegrid President Anthony Horbal estimates that could rise to 100 a month once the new facility is online and new clients brought on board.
“In times like this, people go back to the fundamentals of business, like cash management, and that’s exactly what we speak to,” Dr. Friedman says. “Our product makes their business more profitable.”
Seegrid expects to bring on up to 100 new employees following the move, which was completed in December 2009, poising the company for continued growth and expansion.
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