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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...
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...
Read MoreThis 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...
Read MoreMandissa 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...
Read MoreInnovations 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...
Read MorePolar 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...
Read MoreAlthough 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...
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