James Hall & co and Solwr join forces for improved warehouse efficiency
James Hall & Co is a Lancashire-based family business, founded in 1863. They are the primary wholesaler for SPAR retailers throughout Northern England, serving approximately 600 SPAR stores.
“James Hall & Co Ltd’s strategy on Robotics is to look at lower entry scalable technology that can initially fit within existing warehouse environments.
We have been looking for a mobile robot that can move around a traditional racked warehouse that can autonomously pick orders including heavy grocery cases to alleviate some of the more physically challenging aspects of our existing order pickers duties.
Solwr are to our knowledge the only innovator in the market to produce such a product and it was an exciting and easy decision for us to become a partner with them on the development of the ‘Grab’ picking solution.
We also see their additional pallet sortation product ‘Sort’ and their transportation robot ‘flexAIV’ as further exciting market leading innovation. We continue to look forward to work closely with SOLWR and the intelligent solutions they provide”
Anthony Barton, Operations and Personnel Director, James Hall & Co Ltd.
During the next months, James Hall & co will implement and start using the mobile picking robot Grab™. This is an autonomous robot for picking items directly from shelves to pallets or other load carriers. The international market potential for the Grab™ robot is considered significant, as it offers low-risk automation of existing warehouses. It is an alternative to most other solutions, which usually require significant investments in both property, facilities, and equipment, still with higher operational risks and expenses. Grab™ is the result of substantial R&D efforts and world-class innovation. It is developed in collaboration with the Norwegian research organization SINTEF, and with financial support from Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Research Council, and ASKO Norway AS.
During The Robotics & Automation exhibition in Birmingham on the 19th and 20th of March, Solwr, together with James Hall, will be present and Grab™ can be seen live at our stand.
"The exhibition in Birmingham will be a great opportunity to present Grab™ and discuss opportunities for operational improvements within pallet to pallet picking with potential partners and customers in UK", says Torbjørn Krogen, CEO of Solwr Robotics.