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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...
Read MoreTwo 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...
Read MoreThere 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...
Read MoreListed 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...
Read MoreThe 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...
Read MoreAt 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...
Read MoreFormic 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...
Read MoreDCL 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...
Read MoreSteve 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...
Read MorePOLAR 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...
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