"We observed a very positive trend in the market for mobile robotics back in 2016. We took this momentum as an opportunity to expand both our production and sales activities," says Thomas Visti, CEO of Mobile Industrial Robots. "We owe last year's growth primarily to orders from international customers. The advantages of our MiR100 and MiR200 robots have directly convinced them in daily use and they have ordered larger fleets of mobile robots. In a global comparison, we are now the manufacturer with the most transport robots in production facilities worldwide."

The most important markets for MiR in 2017 were the USA, which accounted for 25% of all orders, followed by Germany with 20% and China with 15%. Well-known companies such as Honeywell, Kamstrup, Airbus and Flex are among the manufacturer's customer base.

Expansion of the headquarters

MiR intends to remain on course for growth in the new year: The headquarters in Odense, Denmark, will be doubled in size. The manufacturer opened a large test and training center there at the end of 2017. The number of employees, which more than doubled last year from 27 to 60, is set to increase further in 2018 with 50 new hires - including an expanded top management team.

Since the beginning of January, René Tristan Lydiksen and Søren E. Nielsen have joined the MiR team as new CCO and CTO respectively. Lydiksen was most recently Managing Director at Lego for Lego Education International and gained further experience at companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Grey Global Group. Nielsen most recently held the position of R&D Director at Danfoss. The former CTO of MiR, Niels Jul Jacobsen, is moving to the position of CSO.

In addition to the USA and China, the DACH region is the focus of MiR's expansion plans. The company is planning to open a German office and is currently looking for a suitable location. A new sales manager and an additional technical support employee will strengthen the local team in the long term. The goals for the region are still ambitious: MiR is aiming for sales of 20 million euros in the DACH market and Benelux alone in 2018.