"With our roadshow, we were able to offer small and medium-sized companies in particular more individual and practical advice than ever before. We have raised awareness of the benefits and potential applications of automation with collaborative robots enormously," summarizes Helmut Schmid, Managing Director of Universal Robots (Germany) and General Manager Western Europe.

Just give robots a try

Whether assembly, pick & place or packaging: For twelve weeks, the experts from UR addressed the diverse needs of those interested in robotics. Across all regions, participants particularly appreciated the opportunity to receive advice in the immediate vicinity of their own business premises.

Christian Lorenscheit, Business Development Manager Western Europe at Universal Robots, says: "Automation is no longer just for 'the big boys', but for everyone. In the tour truck, we responded to the wish of many SMEs to simply experience and try out all the functions of a robot live. The visitors were amazed at how intuitive robot programming can be."

Partners round off the tour concept

Various partner companies put on a varied program along the roadshow route. Sensor manufacturer SensoPart, for example, combined the stop in Gottenheim with its own experience day for robotics: "We gave visitors the opportunity to talk to vision experts. We also organized specialist presentations on the topic of automation. The mix of live demos from Universal Robots and presentations was very well received," says Bernd Eckenfels, Head of Marketing Communication at SensoPart.

Another partner was Bachmann Engineering from Zofingen. Sales Manager Marc Strub is satisfied: "The interest was so huge that UR could easily have toured Switzerland for another two weeks. The companies from the region really appreciated the non-binding and uncomplicated advice."

Everything and much more for the "little ones"

With regard to the positive reactions, Schmid summarizes: "With the roadshow, we have once again shown ourselves to be a pioneer for SMEs in an automated future. You can look forward to seeing what comes next."