Amazon acquires warehouse machinery and robotics maker Cloostermans

Amazon has acquired Cloostermans, a Belgian institution that makes exertion utilized successful warehouses, the institution announced Friday. Terms of the woody weren't disclosed.

Amazon began moving with Cloostermans successful 2019, utilizing its exertion to assistance determination and stack dense palettes and goods, arsenic good arsenic bundle products unneurotic for delivery, the retail elephantine said.

Cloostermans volition go portion of Amazon Robotics, Amazon's part focused connected automating aspects of its warehouse operations. The portion was formed aft Amazon acquired Kiva Systems, a shaper of warehouse robots, for $775 cardinal a decennary ago.

Amazon continues to motorboat caller machines successful warehouses. In June, the institution unveiled a bundle ferrying instrumentality called Proteus, which it referred to arsenic its archetypal afloat autonomous mobile robot. It's besides deployed other robots that tin assistance benignant and determination packages.

In a blog post, Ian Simpson, vice president of Global Robotics astatine Amazon, said the institution is investing successful robotics and different exertion to marque its warehouses safer for employees.

"As we proceed to broaden and accelerate the robotics and exertion we design, technologist and deploy crossed our operations, we look guardant to welcoming Cloostermans to Amazon and are excited to spot what we tin physique together," Simpson said.

The imaginable of warehouse robotics improving information has been a taxable of debate. An probe by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting recovered Amazon's warehouses with robots person higher wounded rates than facilities without automation.

Founded successful 1884, Cloostermans began arsenic a repair store for textile companies and went connected to physique concern machines. As a effect of the acquisition, Cloostermans' squad of astir 200 employees volition articulation Amazon Robotics, Amazon said.

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