More than 1.8 billion pallets are in circulation in the U.S. each day—with billions more across the globe—but less than 1% of the millions of material handling vehicles moving them are automated today. Vecna Robotics this week announced a partnership with Alta Material Handling. Alta MH will offer Vecna's high-capacity autonomous mobile robots, or AMRs, to customers looking for versatile, safe, and integrated pallet-handling solutions.
“We’re excited for the potential of this partnership, particularly as we see demand for AMRs grow among our customer base as they learn more about the difference between AGVs [automated guided vehicles] and AMRs,” stated Joe Bollman, manager of Alta Robotics. “Customers are asking for features like the ability to reroute in real-time and navigate freely around obstacles – a more viable, safe and flexible option for many.”
“In today’s world, autonomous material handling solutions are a crucial component to helping organizations keep pace with the demands of the industry and offset labor shortages,” he added. “Expanding our offerings with Vecna Robotics’ solutions aligns with Alta’s focus on serving our customers with the most innovative and best-in-class materials handling equipment on the market.”
About Alta MH and Vecna Robotics
Alta Material Handling provides material handling equipment, warehouse automation and design, and environmental systems. It is a business unit of Alta Equipment Group Inc. and offers a brand-agnostic approach. Alta has operated as an equipment dealership for 36 years and has developed a branch network that includes 55 total locations across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, New England, New York, Virginia and Florida.
Vecna Robotics provides AMRs and workflow orchestration software to help distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing organizations streamline their materials handling and logistics operations. The Waltham, Mass.-based company claimed that its robots include the most advanced navigation system in the industry and can adjust to their environments and reroute in real time.
Vecna's proprietary Pivotal orchestration engine integrates with existing warehouse management systems for a coordinated approach that maximizes throughput, operational efficiency, and human-robot collaboration.
Pivotal can simplify warehouse management by analyzing an organization’s operations in real time and adjusting processes accordingly, ensuring the right resource is in the right place at the right time, Vecna said.
The company also provides round-the-clock, U.S.-based live support and proactive monitoring for 99%+ uptime.
Partners to facilitate pallet handling
Alta MH and Vecna Robotics said they will support customer demand for automating high-frequency pallet handling within distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing centers across the U.S. The strategic allies said this will enable Alta MH to offer the only pallet-handling AMRs equipped with obstacle avoidance, path planning, and independent pallet pickup.
Alta MH will spec, sell, and service Vecna Robotics’ full range of pallet-handling systems, including self-driving forklifts, pallet trucks, and tuggers. The AMRs can work alongside other materials handling vehicles and human staffers to improve efficiency and throughput, according to Vecna.
“We’re eager to kick off this partnership with Alta Material Handling, as the company has a deep knowledge of customer needs and an innovative outlook,” said Matthew Cherewka, director of business development and strategy at Vecna Robotics. “With Alta’s extensive reach and long-held reputation for quality products and service, we are pleased to work alongside them to expand their offerings and deploy our solutions nationwide.”
Alta Material Handling will be conducting live demonstrations of Vecna Robotics’ AMRs at the Innovate 21 Expo on Oct. 14, 2021, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
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