Safety First at the Robot Facility

How does the largest facility for robotic automation solutions in the Nordics actually work with safety? Dan Gunnarsson and Cecilia Benze from Yaskawa Nordic AB talk about the company’s partnership with Axelent.

Yaskawa Nordic AB was founded in the early 1970s in the Swedish municipality of Torsås under the name of Torsteknik. The company is now part of the Japanese Yaskawa Electric Corporation, one of the world's leading manufacturers of industrial robots, power and servo motors and control systems, with over 400,000 Motoman robots installed worldwide.

The Swedish part of the company employs around 160 people at their facilities in Torsås, Kalmar and Jönköping. All three facilities train robot operators in robot programming and robot handling while all manufacturing takes place at Torsås, where they make control systems to all the robots on the European market and complete robotic systems mainly for the Swedish market. They also manufacture peripheral equipment to robotic systems, such as gripping tools, welding equipment, gantries and pick lanes, which broadens a robot’s operating range.

“We offer products that give our customers competitive advantages by increasing productivity and creating a better work environment,” explains Cecilia Benze, Marketing Manager at Yaskawa Nordic AB.

As well as creating a safer and more efficient work environment for their customers, the company also attaches great importance to improving their own workplace conditions. Application Engineer Dan Gunnarsson says that keeping safety in focus and staying at the forefront of the latest developments is a matter of course for Yaskawa Nordic.

“Our design and construction department keep an eagle eye on all the latest safety requirements.”

Yaskawa Nordics’s partnership with Axelent stretches back fifteen to twenty years. They chose Axelent for their prime quality products and short lead times.

“The partnership got off to a flying start. We always get an immediate response to any queries or problems we may have, and they give us a quote in next to no time, which we greatly appreciate.”

Axelent currently supplies the robot facility with mesh partitions, cable routing systems and door locks.

“Our facilities have always maintained a high level of safety and security, and we always conduct a risk assessment before starting a new special project. Axelent plays a vital role in all our safety work, not least when our designers are developing new flexible safety and security solutions for our facilities.”