Ranpack Holdings Corp., which provides paper-based packaging for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, yesterday said it has invested in Pickle Robot Co., which has developed robots for sorting, loading, and unloading packaged goods. The investment complements and expands Ranpak's existing automation portfolio, said the Concord Township, Ohio-based company.
“We are investing in leading-edge technology to further accelerate Ranpak’s global leadership in packaging automation,” stated Omar Asali, chairman and CEO of Ranpak. “This strategic investment in Pickle Robot, combined with our addition of R Squared Robotics, further solidifies our focus on automation and ultimately unlocks new opportunities to deliver efficiencies, cost-savings, and value to our global customer base. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and robotics, Ranpak is driving transformation of the fulfillment and packaging industry.”
Founded in 1972, Ranpak Automation said its mission is to deliver sustainable packaging to help improve supply chain performance and costs, reduce environmental impact, and support a variety of growing business needs globally. The company has approximately 700 employees and recently created R Squared Robotics, a division that uses 3D computer vision and AI to improve end-of-the-line packaging and logistics.
Pickle Robot works to improve efficiency
Somerville, Mass.-based Pickle Robot was founded by robotics and machine learning alumni from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The company builds robots that move packages in and out of distribution and fulfillment centers. Pickle has also developed low-cost collaborative robots that can work alongside people in the complex environments of loading docks, reducing the amount of human effort that goes into getting online orders to the front door.
Pickle and R Squared Robotics said they will design and build automated, integrated systems for high-volume end users to improve the speed and efficiency of their operations.
“As a leader in packaging automation, Ranpak is the ideal partner to apply and scale our robotic solutions, which inexpensively retrofit into existing operations while increasing the processing rate of the entire packaging facility,” said Andrew Meyer, co-founder and CEO of Pickle Robot. “We are excited to work together to bring our robotics technology to the global logistics industry.”
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