Due to import duties, transport costs and higher labour costs, in recent years robots from Europe have become less and less competitive in countries such as China. Also for Tebulo Industrial Robotics it became more and more difficult to compete with local companies abroad. So, Tebulo Industrial Robotics decided to utilise remote access during system commissioning. In recent years they have gained a wealth of experience with this methodology.

Now, in the COVID-19 period, remote access for Tebulo Industrial Robotics turned out to be the game changer. Rob Beentjes, General Director at Tebulo Industrial Robotics explains the new approach: The engineering of all parts of our robot cells for the Chinese market is still carried out in the Netherlands. Subsequently, the drawings package, excluding the drawings of the intelligent parts, will be transferred to Tebulo’s Chinese distributor, who acquires and manufactures the various components on location: This includes components such as control cabinets, the steel frame, the standard ABB robot etc. During the construction of the different parts of the robot cell in China, the project is handled directly by the Dutch Tebulo organisation.”

Intelligent parts

The robot’s intelligent parts, such as the nozzle with the robot tools and the software, are fully manufactured and tested in the Netherlands and then transported to China with the necessary cables and hoses for on-site assembly. Subsequently, the Chinese distributor and his team assemble the robot cells in their own test and assembly hall. Upon purchase, the system is then transported to the customer. Together with the Dutch colleagues, who are monitoring the software by remote access while watching ‘live’ images, the Chinese distributor brings the robots into operation.

Experience

Hans Spaans, Technical Director at Tebulo Industrial Robotics: “It is worth mentioning that the Chinese distributor’s team has been extensively trained by our own people in the Netherlands. Moreover, the Dutch colleagues, well before the COVID-19 crisis, visited China to provide instructions on location. It is a Covid-proof approach which has yielded a substantial improvement in efficiency, considerable time savings, and a lower Total Cost of Ownership. The proven concept is now further being developed for the European market. We do this in order to achieve independence, despite travel restrictions, and to optimally serve our clients, even during Covid times. The first projects in Switzerland and Germany have already been successfully completed during the lockdown period.“