Fox Robotics’ FoxBot autonomous forklift is equipped with a suite of safety-certified, off-the-shelf sensors and proprietary firmware to enable precise navigation. | Source: Fox Robotics
KION North America and Fox Robotics Inc. have entered into a non-exclusive partnership. KION NA will manufacture and assemble FoxBot autonomous trailer loader/unloaders (ATLs) at its facility in Summerville, S.C.
“Fox Robotics is scaling and expanding its supply chain capabilities significantly via the partnership with KION North America,” Marin Tchakarov, CEO and President at Fox Robotics, said. “Our traction in the marketplace is tremendous, and Fox Robotics is at an inflection point in its growth arc. We are experiencing unprecedented demand and have a massive list of bookings for Fox Robotics products and solutions. The partnership with KION NA will most certainly pave the way to capture all this commercial growth.”
KION NA is a manufacturer of Linda Material Handling equipment. The company says its family of products and services helps businesses work smarter, faster, and more efficiently. Its team is dedicated to creating performance-based, purpose-built systems to help its customers succeed.
The Austin, Texas-based company has financial backing from BMW i Ventures and Zebra Technologies Corp. In 2022, it brought in $20 million in funding. Founded in 2017, the company said in January that its installed fleet had doubled in the prior 12 months and that its revenue nearly tripled between 2022 and 2023.
Last month, Walmart announced it entered into a multi-year agreement with Fox Robotics. In addition to an initial rollout of 19 FoxBot autonomous forklifts, Walmart invested growth capital for a minority stake in the company.
Inside Fox Robotics’ autonomous forklift
The FoxBot autonomous forklift is a Class 1 electric, stand-up autonomous forklift. The company designed it for load and unload operations on warehouse loading docks. The robot is classified as an autonomous mobile robot (AMR).
“We are at a pivotal moment in the logistics and transportation industry, where innovation is key to addressing some of the most pressing challenges we face. Specifically, in the realm of automated trailer loading and unloading, the last remaining piece of the end-to-end warehouse automation puzzle, Fox Robotics stands out by far as the dominant leader with the most robust AI/ML algorithms, tech stack, and deployed robot fleet we’ve ever seen,” Jonathan Dawley, President and CEO at KION North America, said.
“We are delighted to announce our collaboration with Fox Robotics to launch this groundbreaking product in the U.S. market,” he said. “This partnership signifies a major leap forward in our commitment to enhancing efficiency, safety, and reliability in our customers’ operations.”
The FoxBot robotic forklift automated various operator tasks to improve workplace safety, increase productivity, and enhance employee satisfaction. The company started selling its ATLs commercially in 2019. It recently announced that its installed base of FoxBot ATLs has processed nearly 3 million pallet pulls to date.