Supply chain automation leaders are increasingly taking their trade-show booths home to exhibit year round. Dematic Corp. last week opened its new Solutions Center at its Americas headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich. The company claimed that it is the first integrated warehouse automation showcase of its kind in North America.
“Customers need greater confidence that their technology investments will deliver results. The Dematic Solutions Center was designed to help them evaluate integrated solutions, visualize what’s possible for their operations and make more informed decisions,” stated Mike Larsson, Dematic president and KION executive board member. “This facility marks an important milestone for both Dematic and KION, creating a global destination where customers can explore the technologies shaping the future of supply chain automation.”
Tracing its origins to 1819, Dematic claimed that its intelligent automation and software can adapt to change, maximize productivity and capacity, reduce risk, and create lasting competitive advantage for warehouses and manufacturers. The Atlanta-based company has more than 10,000 employees worldwide, as well as consulting, research, engineering, manufacturing and service centers in over 26 countries.
Dematic is a unit of Frankfurt am Main, Germany-based KION Group, which acquired it in 2016.
Solutions Center to show how systems can collaborate
Dematic said it has invested nearly $50 million in the new facility, which will show how automation, software, and data intelligence can help organizations build more agile, resilient and scalable supply chains. It will serve as “a global destination for customers,” according to the company.
At almost 40,000 sq. ft. (3716.1 sq. m) facility is a fully functional fulfillment center. It brings together robotics, software, and lifecycle services to demonstrate how integrated solutions work together in real-world operations.
Dematic said customers can experience live demonstrations of end-to-end workflows featuring autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), goods-to-person (G2P) systems, robotic piece picking, palletizing, and warehouse management systems (WMS) operating in a simulated warehouse setting.
Dematic invests in North America
Dematic employs nearly 1,500 people in Michigan and more than 4,000 people across the U.S. The Solutions Center will also support workforce development efforts by helping students, educators and future innovators explore how automation technologies are shaping the future of supply chains and global commerce.
The official opening hosted customers, community leaders, strategic partners, and employees for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the redesigned facility.
“Grand Rapids has long been central to Dematic’s engineering and innovation efforts, making it the ideal home for a facility that showcases the future of supply chain automation,” said Chris Steiner, senior vice president of product management at Dematic. “By bringing together robotics, software, AI-driven insights, and lifecycle solutions and services in one connected environment, the Dematic Solutions Center helps customers reduce risk and better understand how integrated technologies can solve today’s challenges and support future growth.”
As part of the event, Dematic announced a $150,000 donation to the nonprofit For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) to support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and workforce development initiatives. Over the past seven years, Dematic has given close to $500,000 to FIRST through support for local robotics teams, regional competitions, and student scholarships.