SC forklift maker adds robotic, AI-powered machine to lineup | Business

Forklift manufacturer KION North America is adding a new product to the lineup at its Summerville plant that will use robotics and artificial intelligence to move goods to and from truck trailers.

KION said Tuesday it is partnering with Fox Robotics to make FoxBot-branded autonomous loaders that use onboard cameras and LIDAR sensors — a pulsed laser that can measure distances and avoid obstructions — to navigate loading docks and warehouses. The FoxBot forklift can detect a range of pallet types and move loads up to 3,000 pounds to and from programmed locations.

“Our traction in the marketplace is tremendous, and Fox Robotics is at an inflection point in its growth arc,” Marin Tchakarov, president and CEO of Fox Robotics, said in a written statement. “We are experiencing unprecedented demand and have a massive list of bookings for Fox Robotics products and solutions. The partnership with KION will most certainly pave the way to capture all this commercial growth.”

Fox Robotics says the FoxBot, introduced in 2019, can improve workplace safety and increase productivity.

Retail giant Walmart said last month that it will test 19 of the machines at four distribution centers to test how they can improve business operations, according to a report by Grocery Dive. Walmart’s import distribution center in Ridgeville is not among the test sites, which are located in Florida, Texas, New York and Alabama. Walmart, which has a minority investment stake in Fox Robotics, has said in investors meetings that it intends to increase the use of artificial intelligence and automation at all of its distribution sites in coming years.

BMW, which builds sport-utility vehicles at its Greer manufacturing campus, has also invested in the company through its iVentures venture capital firm.

“The logistics space is the single biggest market for automation for the next ten years,” Till Reuter, director of Fox Robotics’ board of directors, said in a written statement. “Converting the shipping and receiving dock, the gateway to the warehouse, from a manual operation to an automated one will drive the greatest growth and change.”

A KION spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

KION has been around for more than 100 years. It was established toward the end of the 19th century as Baker Motor Vehicle Co., an early pioneer of the electric car business. In 1985, the German-owned company moved its main North American production site — and, later, its U.S. headquarters — to Summerville.

The Summerville plant underwent a $40 million expansion to add 250,000-square-feet of space and 450 jobs over the past couple of years to bring production closer to its customer base.