Teradyne snaps up mobile robot maker

NORTH READING, Massachusetts – Teradyne, Inc.is buying AutoGuide Mobile Robots for US$165 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.

AutoGuide provides autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material transport of payloads up to 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) for the manufacturing, warehouse and logistics markets. Used at leading manufacturers and warehouse providers including Pactiv, Ford and Husqvarna, AutoGuide is expected to more than double its revenue in 2019 from approximately $4 million in 2018.

AutoGuide’s products include the Max N10 Tugger, Pallet Stacker and SurePath fleet management software. The Max N10 Pallet Stacker autonomously identifies and lifts pallets, transports them to a specified destination and then stacks the pallets.

The Max N10 Tugger autonomously pulls trailers or carts of material from point-to-point, including indexing for easy loading and unloading.

SurePath fleet management software provides an easy means to specify routes, coordinating the autonomous lifting and transport of pallets, and managing Max N10 AMR traffic to optimize customers’ material transport.

“The high-payload AMR market is an emerging, fast-growing segment of the global forklift market,” said Mark Jagiela, president and CEO of Teradyne.

“AutoGuide’s modular architecture and innovative technologies provide safe, easy-to-deploy products that naturally complement our MiR low- to mid-payload AMRs, extending Teradyne’s reach in this attractive market.”

“AutoGuide, like Universal Robots and MiR, is using emerging smart, cost-effective technologies in industrial robotics to improve workflows and reduce operating costs in a broad spectrum of industries,” continued Jagiela.

“We look forward to helping AutoGuide grow by developing their global sales and support capabilities, while continuing to strengthen and expand their innovative product lineup.”

Rob Sullivan, president and CEO of AutoGuide said, “The combined strength of Teradyne’s industrial automation businesses and AutoGuide’s product lines offer new opportunities to create end-to-end automation solutions for customers seeking the safest and most productive material-handling operations from a single source. Teradyne’s financial strength and global reach will help support AutoGuide’s growth, enabling us to maintain our agile approach to the development and deployment of high-value automation systems that bring industry leading value to our customers.”

Teradyne’s industrial automation offerings include collaborative and mobile robots. In 2018, Teradyne had revenue of $2.1 billion and employs 5,300 people worldwide.