Friday, May 13, 2022
Andy Larson Robotics Deployment Manager With more than 28 years of experience in robotics and automation, Andy is an expert on project management for sophisticated engineering systems and processes. At Formic, he employs his skills and knowledge to provide best-in-class solutions to manufacturers alongside our integration partners. Here is our recent conversation with Andy, which highlights some of the key aspects of successfully deploying automation systems: What is your role here at Formic? My primary focus at Formic is...
Read More →Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Introduction Industrial robotics is not a new concept, yet it can be difficult to fully grasp its complexity and overcome its barriers to entry. Which integrator is the best partner for this project? How do you approach your CFO with evidence that you should automate now? What tasks can you even automate? It can be difficult to make sense of all of the technical complexities and varying financial options, especially when you’re already managing other day-to-day responsibilities. Yet with...
Read More →Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Although live events took a hit during the pandemic, they are now back and booming. Trade shows specifically are perfect opportunities to network and strengthen relationships between manufacturers and solutions providers like us. From the recent ATX West trade show in Anaheim, which gathered over 13,000 people, it was clear to our team how important it is for us to continue sharing our message and our service, in support of SMEs and American manufacturers. Here are a few common themes...
Read More →Friday, April 22, 2022
Implementing a new automation system represents a transformative change for everyone at a plant. The use of novel technology is sure to alter workflows and recalibrate responsibilities for managers and operators alike. Despite the scale of the change, an automation rollout doesn’t have to be disruptive. The key is to plan properly for a seamless transition. If you keep these tips in mind, you should have no problem integrating new systems into your plant’s daily routine – allowing you to...
Read More →Friday, April 22, 2022
Interview with Malcolm Kerr, Head of Growth and Go-to-Market Strategy Malcolm’s experience spans across Corporate Strategy, Product Marketing, Sales, and Growth Marketing, all within rapidly growing start up environments. He is also an investor and mentor to early-stage growth companies. What is your position and role here at Formic? I am the Head of Growth and Go-to-Market Strategy, which basically encompasses sales development, marketing, and sales operations. As you oversee marketing, sales development, and sales ops, what are...
Read More →Thursday, March 31, 2022
Society has long worried that the widespread adoption of robots will displace workers and eliminate jobs. But rather than fearing the arrival of automatons, Shakerria Grier, a 27-year-old quality auditor at Georgia-based Thomson Plastics Inc., is relieved to get the help. In late 2020, Thomson began installing robots that take plastic parts, such as fenders for ATVs or covers for lawn mowers, out of hot-molding machines and place them on a conveyor belt that brings them to Grier. In the past,...
Read More →Wednesday, March 23, 2022
If you’ve ever had your car break down, you know the frustration of suddenly broken equipment. Regardless of whether you were driving to the emergency room or on a casual trip to the grocery store, it is stressful at best and maybe life-altering in the worst scenarios. Equipment downtime in manufacturing does not carry the same life-changing effects, but it does carry significant financial effects. According to IIoT World and Aberdeen Research, equipment failure in the general manufacturing sector costs...
Read More →Friday, March 18, 2022
Palletizing and depalletizing have quickly become two of the most popular tasks to automate in factories and warehouses. Why the sudden explosion? For one, the need is universal. Almost every manufacturer has some form of shipping and receiving in their operation. Also, the tasks are ideal for automation. Moving heavy boxes and goods around, which is what palletizing and depalletizing is, fits perfectly into the “dull, dirty, and dangerous” category of jobs that are horrible for humans and great for...
Read More →Friday, March 18, 2022
Janice Yamamoto, Sales Operations Manager at Formic Technologies Janice brings 18 years of experience being inside the manufacturing automation space, focused on sales opimization and project management. What do you feel is important about your role as Sales Operations Manager at Formic? I think it's really easy to think that every customer and every scenario is binary and black and white. But when you're out in the field, traveling, and helping customers face to face, there's a lot of pressure...
Read More →Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, metal fabrication has been the talk of the town, with stories varying from record high steel prices to monstrous shipping delays and the labor gap. Unfortunately, we’re now entering into another trade crisis during these trying times with Russia. The metal fabrication industry will be affected, but there are some growing trends that may help the industry recover faster. Manufacturing is returning to American shores There are growing efforts to reshore American manufacturing....
Read More →Monday, March 14, 2022
There is a lot of buzz in automation and robotics right now. We are seeing record-breaking investments around the industry, as highlighted by this recent Reuters article and illustrated by the 40,000 robots purchased last year. Having the opportunity to invest in many robotics companies and the joy of leading Formic as CEO, I recently reflected on the state of the industry and wanted to share my thoughts on some of the major forces to watch in 2022. Resilience, Agility, and Innovation...
Read More →Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Listed out are a few common misconceptions about industrial automation... Automation is expensive This statement requires a bit more context. Yes, automation comes at an overwhelming upfront cost, but today, there are many options and finance models servicing robotic solutions by subscription. The Formic’s offering, for example, delivers a custom solution at no upfront cost. Instead, the robot operates under a low hourly rate. Coupled with this subscription-based finance model, manufacturers can reach an ROI the second the robot lands...
Read More →Tuesday, February 22, 2022
The food and beverage industry plays a major role in the U.S. economy being the third-largest contributor to the overall U.S. manufacturing GDP as recorded by nist.gov. The USDA states food and beverage manufacturing plants account for 15.8 percent of the value of shipments and 14.7 percent of all employees in the manufacturing sector. On the other hand, unemployment remains high with 130,000 jobs unfilled as of October 2021 in the packaged goods industry. Labor costs are also rising, but...
Read More →Wednesday, February 16, 2022
At Formic, we deploy both collaborative and industrial/traditional robotic systems depending on the application requirements. We wanted to take a moment to explore collaborative robot technologies, why they’re valuable, and when they’re most appropriate. What is a collaborative robot? According to A3 Robotics, a collaborative robot, or cobot, is a type of robot that operates in a hybrid working space shared with humans. With certain safety precautions put in place like environment-sensing software, the cobot is capable of assisting human...
Read More →Monday, February 7, 2022
Formic Technologies Raises $26.5 Million Series A Led By Lux Capital The new investments will help Formic accelerate deployments of Robotics-as-a-Service for U.S. manufacturers CHICAGO—January 18, 2022—Formic Technologies, a provider of turnkey robotic solutions to American manufacturers, has raised $26.5 million in a Series A financing led by Lux Capital with participation from Initialized Capital, Correlation Ventures, Lorimer Ventures, One Planet VC and other strategic investors. In addition, Formic has secured access to more than $100 million of debt capital...
Read More →Friday, February 4, 2022
DCL logistics, like so many American firms, had a problem last year. Its business, fulfilling orders of goods sold online, faced surging demand. But competition for warehouse workers was fierce, wages were rising and staff turnover was high. So dcl made two changes. It bought robots to pick items off shelves and place them in boxes. And it reduced its reliance on part-time workers by hiring more full-time staff. “What we save in having temp employees, we lose in productivity,” explains Dave Tu, dcl’s...
Read More →Friday, January 28, 2022
Steve Olszewski, VP of Deployment Steve brings almost 30 years of professional experience to Formic with extensive executive experience spanning both operational and general management roles in Fortune 500 organizations and early stage growth companies. Most notably, Steve served as the COO, and then CEO, of Spruce Finance, a residential solar finance company that deployed, monitored, and maintained over 30,000 leased systems across 13 states. Steve also has a background in both general management and technology consulting having worked at...
Read More →Tuesday, January 18, 2022
POLAR MANUFACTURING has been making metal hinges, locks, and brackets in south Chicago for more than 100 years. Some of the company’s metal presses—hulking great machines that loom over a worker—date from the 1950s. Last year, to meet rising demand amid a shortage of workers, Polar hired its first robot employee. The robot arm performs a simple, repetitive job: lifting a piece of metal into a press, which then bends the metal into a new shape. And like a person, the robot worker...
Read More →Tuesday, January 18, 2022
This week, we raised $26.5 Million in our Series A financing led by Lux Capital. I’m honored to partner with the Lux team and have Shahin Farschi join me on our board of directors. Lux is one of the leading deep technology investment funds, and has excelled for years at turning “sci-fi into sci-fact”. Lux is joined in this round by Initialized Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Lorimer Ventures, One Planet VC as well as personal investments from a group of industry...
Read More →Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Company: Georgia Nut Industry: Food Production Application: Palletizing Robot: Yaskawa Motoman The Company Georgia Nut was founded in 1945 as a small shelling and roasting operation in Skokie, Illinois. As the decades passed, Georgia nut significantly increased their capabilities and product offerings, and now handles wholesale confections, contract manufacturing, and private label food production. Today, Georgia Nut remains a family owned and operated business. Before working with Formic, Georgia Nut had no experience with automation in their 75+ years of...
Read More →Friday, January 14, 2022
Mandissa Marshall, Talent Acquisition Lead You have been a part of Formic for 3 months now, how would you describe your time here so far? It's been a blast coming on board, even unexpecting. I didn't realize how collaborative and team oriented everyone is internally. I've been really blessed to have so many team members on site share so much knowledge and insight, helping me get up to speed on everything. Everyone is always happy to jump on a call,...
Read More →Monday, December 20, 2021
Innovations in industrial automation are often talked about, but here are a few trends you might not have heard of… 1. Soft Robotics Technology such as soft robotics is a direct solution to many of the limitations in traditional industrial robots. They are called soft robotics because they literally have features such as soft-touch grippers that consist of more elastic or flexible materials to closely simulate the touch of living organisms and their ability to adapt to their surroundings. These...
Read More →Monday, November 22, 2021
Polar Manufacturing Rents Fully Customized Machine Tending Robot from Formic; Automates for First Time in 105 Years Formic’s innovative “robotics-as-a-service” model lowers traditional barriers to automation; Polar Manufacturing Company expects to save up to $77,000 a year in labor costs. CHICAGO―November 22, 2021-- Polar Hardware, a manufacturer of door and truck body hardware, chose Formic’s “robotics-as-a-service” offering to automate for the first time in 105 years of business. Formic partnered with DesignHawk from Chicago to engineer the machine tending system,...
Read More →Monday, November 22, 2021
Although no two manufacturers are entirely alike, many of them face similar challenges with regards to productivity, output, labor, and capital improvement initiatives. Any manufacturer considering automation thinks through their choice of partner carefully: there is a high cost of failure, and any production hiccup can impact both top line revenue and operational expenses. There are also a broad range of automation partners and financing strategies, adding layers of complexity. So why do customers choose Formic? 1. Wants to preserve...
Read More →Thursday, November 11, 2021
The current state of the U.S. labor market speaks for itself. It is estimated that almost 2.1 million jobs in manufacturing could go unfilled by 2030, according to a study by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. New automation technology can help the U.S. bridge this gap, yet it is still very common to walk on to a small to mid-sized manufacturing floor and only see machinery from before the 90s. The U.S. market for automation is growing - with 29,000...
Read More →Friday, October 22, 2021
Jack Wagler, Treasurer and VP of Finance at Formic What is your position, and how involved are you with incoming customer deals? What we are doing is very unique. When you are offering a new solution like RaaS, you have to have new contracts and new documentation to allow that to happen. A key part of my involvement with the customers is to build the framework for the arrangement between the customer and us. When we have an opportunity to...
Read More →Tuesday, October 19, 2021
The Technology Homo sapiens have been alive for slightly over 300,000 years. Incredibly, however, our most powerful technological inventions - the steam engine, mass production and digital technology - have all occurred within the last 250 years, a blink of an eye on the timescale of our existence. Now, in 2021, we are in the midst of a fourth revolution - aptly named “Industry 4.0”. Google searches for the term have increased by 2400% since 2014 and patents related to...
Read More →Friday, October 15, 2021
Kyle Kidwell, an application engineer at Formic. Responsible for evaluating potential automation applications, managing projects, and engaging with customers. What is your proudest accomplishment working at Formic? I would say my proudest accomplishment doesn’t necessarily have anything to do specifically with individual effort. I would say that as a team we have worked to develop a system that allows us to deploy a robot a lot quicker and is improving our time to quote, our time to get a contract...
Read More →Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Misa Ilkhechi has seen his share of idle welding robots. With stints in sales and engineering at companies like Bosch and, most recently, Universal Robots, Ilkhechi would visit various metal fabrication facilities, see a busy welding department, and yet also see a robot welding cell gathering dust. Sometimes the company couldn’t find time to train someone to run it. Other times, a large project ended and the shop just couldn’t find another use for the automation. And by the time...
Read More →Monday, October 11, 2021
1. SIMBE ROBOTICS Simbe Robotics is helping brick-and-mortar retail stores optimize their shelves and their profits. “Tally'' is an autonomous robot that tracks inventory to ensure that everything the customer wants is on the shelf. This is a serious problem for regional retailers; according to the IHL group, over 24% of Amazon’s current retail revenue comes from customers who first tried to buy the product in-store. Companies like grocery stores - who have such a strong flow of products in...
Read More →Friday, October 8, 2021
Saman Farid, the CEO and Co-Founder of Formic shares his observations on the current state of U.S. manufacturing and the robotics industry. In your own words, what is Formic to you? Formic puts robots to work where they can make a difference - in factories that need reliable, cost effective, and capable throughput. How did you come into the robotics industry? This idea? I’ve been fascinated by robots since I was a kid, but after studying automation and learning about...
Read More →Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Industry: Machining Application: Machine Tending The Company Polar Manufacturing was established 105 years ago in Chicago, Illinois, and specializes in a broad range of door and truck body hardware for industrial applications. These products include, but are not limited to, locking handles, latches, and rope rings. It’s a broad product set, but Polar’s deep experience and stable of machines makes that breadth of production possible. Before working with Formic, Polar had no automation deployed in their facility due to cost. ...
Read More →Monday, October 4, 2021
1. AMP ROBOTICS Each year, over 139 million tons of American trash is discarded into landfills. Not only are these landfills an eyesore, but they also emit methane gas, leak dangerous chemicals and harm biodiversity. Fortunately, Amp Robotics is using artificial intelligence to solve America’s waste problem. Currently, the U.S. recycles 34.6% of its garbage, far below some nations which have rates bordering on 70%. However, Amp’s sorting robots - which sort recycling twice as fast as humans with greater...
Read More →Friday, September 17, 2021
Misa Ilkhechi, the Co-Founder and VP of Sales answers some big questions about him and his story with Formic. In your own words, what is Formic to you? Formic is the first automation solution that guarantees system uptime while lowering the barrier to entry for manufacturers with its flexible pay as you go model. The flexibility and uptime guarantee eliminates the risk completely for manufacturers who have been on the fence and have been looking to automate for years. How...
Read More →Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Although manufacturing’s share of employment in the U.S. has dropped from 33% in 1947 to under 8% in 2019, it is currently the manufacturers who are desperately searching for workers and not the other way around. In fact, according to a study performed by the Workforce Institute at UKG, 54% of U.S. manufacturing firms reported extreme difficulty in hiring and retaining new workers in 2021. It is important to understand just how dire the the situation has become. Manufacturers say...
Read More →Tuesday, September 7, 2021
When questioning whether or not automation is a necessity, the easiest answer is to provide clear examples of how it is the most useful and essential tool. In today’s world, many manufacturers still depend heavily on the working hands of people, even if these tasks may be dangerous or extremely repetitive. Most of these tasks are difficult to hire because of their reputation and the staffing shortfall leads to motivations to raise wages. These losses can be catastrophic when small...
Read More →Wednesday, September 1, 2021
First Fully Customized Robotics-as-a-Service Offering Lets Manufacturers ‘Hire’ Popular Robots at Low Hourly Rate By handling every aspect of financing and deployment, Formic empowers manufacturers to save money from day one and boost production. CHICAGO, IL — August 24, 2021-- Robotics-as-a-service company Formic Technologies launched today with a simple value proposition: hire fully customized robots from top vendors at a low hourly rate and no upfront cost. To help small and medium-size manufacturers benefit from automation, Formic handles every aspect...
Read More →Thursday, August 26, 2021
LIVERMORE, Calif., Aug 26 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley has a new pitch to persuade small companies to automate: rent-a-robot. Better technology and the need to pay higher wages to humans have produced a surge in sales of robots to big companies all across America. But few of these automatons are making it into smaller factories, which are wary of big upfront costs and lacking robot engineering talent. Read more>
Read More →Thursday, August 5, 2021
Automation is practically a requirement for any manufacturing business that expects to compete today. An established company that wants to get automation typically has to pay with cash, take out a loan (e.g. from a bank), or get specific equipment financing to purchase the equipment. This CAPEX equipment purchase uses money that the business could otherwise have used to grow. However, there is an additional aspect that companies may not consider—the risk and cost of the implementation. Unless a company...
Read More →Friday, July 23, 2021
The pervasive feeling in the manufacturing space is, when you need something automated, you need to go out and buy a robot. However, before putting up a huge amount of capital on a new system, manufacturers need to ask themselves: Do I have the right system for the job? Am I getting this system at the best possible price? Do I have the budget for this project? Do I have the right system integrator? Will we need this system for...
Read More →Tuesday, June 22, 2021
If automation was as simple as getting a loan, buying the system, and making more money, every business in the country would be automated. Unfortunately, there are some large roadblocks standing between small businesses and complete optimization of their production lines. Too Many Options The “too many options” paralysis applies to not only the equipment specifications (which vendor to use for the grippers/sensors? Which robot make and model?), but also the number of vendors available to scope the application. There...
Read More →Friday, June 11, 2021
On Tuesday, the Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to spend $250 billion on scientific research and development to bolster competitiveness against China. It has not yet passed the House. The bipartisan support for this bill reflects the sense of urgency policymakers feel with regards countering the substantial investments China has made into bolstering their technological sophistication. “It is long past time that we invest in American workers and American innovation,” Biden said...
Read More →Thursday, May 27, 2021
This Q&A with Misa and I was originally featured on RoboticsTomorrow.com, you can read the original article here. What is Formic, and who are the co-founders? Formic is a robotics-as-a-service company that is fundamentally changing the way industrial robotics are scoped and deployed. We handle all of the logistics of an automation deployment, from scoping and customization to installation and maintenance. We don’t charge any money upfront, only a low hourly rate, which is typically 42% less than what companies pay...
Read More →Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Robotic automation has the potential to produce incredible returns for facilities who choose to deploy, but it can also be quite the resource drain when applications do not work out as planned. Sometimes these issues are easily fixed with basic troubleshooting or reprogramming, other times this downtime can wreak havoc on production processes and cause critical problems for manufacturers. Issues with robotic systems can take many forms: an improperly scoped and deployed system, a broken part, a shift in upstream...
Read More →Thursday, May 6, 2021
Recording of webinar below: Traditionally manufacturers have had few financing options to deploy automation within their operations. Recent developments allow manufacturers to rent automation equipment, utilize Machines as a Service (MaaS), and guarantee equipment performance based on production KPIs. WMEP will explore these options with industry partners to give real-world case studies on options to bring automation into your facility. By attending this webinar, you will walk away with having an understanding of alternative financing models for automation that keep...
Read More →Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Robotics-as-a-service is a hot and growing space, and continues to rise in popularity due to its flexibility, scalability, and low barrier to entry. In fact, ABI Research predicts that there will be 1.3 million installations of RaaS by 2026. This is quite a significant number when you consider that there are only approximately 2.7 million robots at work in factories today. I wrote a blog post delving into this a few weeks ago that you can find here. One question...
Read More →Monday, April 26, 2021
We're often asked by manufacturers whether buying their own automation saves them money in comparison with Formic's "Full-Service Automation" model. The answer is: it depends. In some situations buying makes more sense, and others where Formic's usage-based pricing is better. To help our customers with this comparison, we've put together a framework for answering these questions, along with a case study for a real-world deployment. When buying automation, we suggest manufacturers consider the total cost of ownership & operation when...
Read More →Thursday, April 15, 2021
Time: 12:00 p.m. CT - 1:00 p.m. CT With the announcement of several Executive Orders, including the Buy American EO and the American Supply Chain EO, the U.S. government has renewed its interest in procuring American goods and services. As such, there are many opportunities for small businesses to secure government funding and participate in a historic rebuild of the American economy. But many small businesses are asking: where do I even begin? Join Formic and MxD for a webinar...
Read More →Tuesday, April 13, 2021
First, what are “as-a-service” models, and why are they gaining popularity? “As-a-service” models are defined by a good or service being made available “as needed” (this could be monthly pricing or usage based pricing). Upfront costs are usually negligible or non-existent. Contract lengths are flexible, allowing users to take advantage of the good or service only as they need it. The business assumes the responsibility for servicing and upgrades throughout the duration of the contract. These models have exploded in popularity...
Read More →Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Recently we published a blog discussing automation for manufacturing CFOs. We have received some questions on that post and so this is a follow up to that original post to answer those questions. Question: Should I be concerned if I install Formic’s automation solution that my manufacturing process could be negatively impacted if Formic’s machines break? Answer: Although there is always a risk that a machine can break, Formic has designed our process to limit the risk of downtime based...
Read More →Thursday, April 1, 2021
The job of a CFO has grown and evolved over the years. Many CFOs now have responsibilities that go beyond the traditional role of accounting and financial statements—to risk management, financial planning and analysis, expense reduction, treasury, human resources, mergers and acquisitions, technology, legal, etc. For CFOs at manufacturing companies, supporting and growing their business, often with a finite budget, while limiting risk can be challenging. US manufacturing companies exist in an environment where many positions go unfilled—hampering growth and...
Read More →Friday, March 26, 2021
There’s enough buzz around robotic automation in recent years that most manufacturers have at least tossed around the idea of whether it’s right for them. If the idea of growing your bottom line while improving processes and reducing costs excites you, then it’s certainly worth consideration. However, not all tasks can be automated or would benefit from automation. Once a tool limited only to manufacturing giants, industrial robotics are now more accessible and cost-effective for smaller manufacturers, opening doors of...
Read More →Friday, March 12, 2021
This nation was founded on the defiant idea that there’s nothing we can’t do. When we don’t see a solution, we roll up our sleeves and make one. A legacy we are proud to live up to. Every day, business is built by hand; reliable hands that don’t know the meaning of the word stop. Hands that do what they’ve always done, build solutions.We are that set of hands.Putting robotics in place within your operation. Solving your problems without creating any....
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