Långserud, Sweden/ Bremen, Germany, 10th March 2022 – KUKA Assembly & Test GmbH and Wiksfors Technology AB announced today a strategic partnership to join forces in the modular house construction industry. Its mission is to facilitate the ‘next generation factories’ that will provide accommodations produced on a very large scale: assembled and constructed offsite. The collaboration is based on a non-exclusive cooperation between KUKA and Wiksfors, to jointly acquire and execute projects for the construction industry.
KUKA is a world-leading provider of engineering services and a manufacturer of flexible and highly innovative robot-based production systems and manufacturing solutions. From individual machines, components, robots and robot cells to complex manufacturing and assembly lines. Whereas data- driven engineering company Wiksfors Technology’s expertise is to develop factory layouts, combined with actual machine data for optimizing material handling, workflows and process. Based on CAD data, machine data is being developed and evaluated by simulations and integrated in production, long before actual assembly lines are even produced. This pre-evaluation process that Wiksfors provides is based on actual factory data and is key for decision making.
“KUKA and Wiksfors are two pioneers in the industrialization of the housing industry. Together we will give the opportunity for house developers to benefit from the extensive knowledge and experience KUKA has in the automotive industry, combined Wiksfors Technology’s extensive experience of data and robotics in the construction industry”, said Timo Heil, CEO of KUKA Assembly & Test GmbH.
Wiksfors has, through the founder Lars Evert Wikholm, also been part of the historical introduction of robotics in this industry with a leading role in the development of Moelven (SE), Katerra (US), Autovol (US) and TopHat (UK) (in 2015 -2022).
This partnership is an important milestone for the growth strategy of both KUKA and Wiksfors. Further collaboration will allow both companies to meet growing demand for robotics and automation in the construction industry worldwide.
KUKA
KUKA is a global automation corporation with sales of around 2.6 billion euro and roughly 14,000 employees. The company is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany. As one of the world’s leading suppliers of intelligent automation solutions, KUKA offers customers everything they need from a single source: from robots and cells to fully automated systems and their networking in markets such as automotive, electronics, metal & plastic, consumer goods, e-commerce/retail and healthcare. (As at December 31, 2020)
WIKSFORS TECHNOLOGY
Wiksfors Technology is a visionary high-tech startup based in Sweden with focus on the house manufacturing industry. With the cross-over of being visionaries, automation consultants, process designers and engineers with over 25 years of experience in automation, we play a key role in reforming the way of developing modular houses coming straight out of a factory.
Wiksfors Technology has established a long and well proven track-record in a wide range of international automation projects for all types of industries, both designing factories and the processes as well as implementing new and proven manufacturing methods and innovative robot technology.