Universal Robots hires general manager for Americas region

Following rapid market expansion in the U.S. after its 2012 entry into the North American market, collaborative robot manufacturer Universal Robots has announced Douglas Peterson as general manager.

In his new position, Peterson will oversee operations in North and South America. After a doubling of year to year revenue, the Danish robot manufacturer is expanding its local presence, adding to its existing office in Long Island, N.Y., a string of new regional sales and support offices in Ann Arbor, Mich., Irvine, Calif., Dallas, Texas, and Mexico City with future short range plans to expand into South America.

“Douglas Peterson has a proven track record of more than 25 years in industrial automation and electronics manufacturing; spearheading strategic leadership, successfully building up sales channels and expanding them internationally,” said chief commercial officer of Universal Robots, Daniel Friis. “We’re excited to have him lead the Americas team into the next growth phase.”

Peterson comes to Universal Robots from a CEO position with Tennessee Industrial Electronics, a leader in refurbished FANUC CNC and robot parts. Prior to this he was president of Rittal Corporation, a US division of a global manufacturer of industrial and IT enclosures. He also held executive positions within Belden and Phoenix Contact and a wide range of leadership positions within General Electric, overseeing areas such as the Americas CNC Business and GE FANUC Automation.

“What really attracted me to Universal Robots is the clear value proposition their collaborative robots present to both end users and channel partners,” Peterson said. “The company is not only innovative, entrepreneurial and fast growing, it also has all the benefits of a larger corporation with the backing of its parent company, Teradyne. Being the commercial leader of a company like this on the forefront of industrial automation and leading in the emerging collaborative robotics segment was an opportunity I could not turn down.”

Peterson looks forward to expanding the distribution base, adding more channel partners such as system integrators and vertical market distributors, as well as expanding sales and technical support at the new UR offices.