The sudden shutdown of collaborative robot pioneer Rethink Robotics came as a shock to many in the industry. While sad, the shutdown released dozens of highly skilled, innovative engineers and other workers into a market hungry for talent. In the aftermath, we’re seeing those valuable workers snapped up by other industry players, such as Rethink’s biggest competitor, Universal Robots.
Besides employment, a major concern stemming from the shutdown has been the customers with Sawyer or Baxter on the floor, left potentially lacking support. The acquisition of Rethink’s IP by HAHN Group, including Sawyer, Baxter, the Intera 5 software, and the innovative ClickSmart gripper kits will likely set many users at ease. However, HAHN has announced that it is now the “exclusive distributor” of the products, leaving a large global network of third-party distributors high and dry.
Only a few weeks prior to the big news, I visited the booth at IMTS and met one Rethink engineer who is now employed at Universal Robots in a very similar engineering/management role he formerly held. That engineer is now one of many former Rethinkers who are finding a new home at UR.
Universal Robots is hiring 20+ Rethink staff members, merging UR’s Boston office with Rethink’s former headquarters in the Seaport area in Boston, USA, with immediate effect. According to the company, these key personnel bring extensive collaborative robotics experience in engineering, product development, and customer applications, which will combine well with UR’s expertise to continue to drive new and innovative collaborative robotics solutions.
“Our new colleagues from Rethink have extensive expertise, knowledge and know-how not only about the technology but indeed also about the market conditions and what the customers’ pain-points are. All of this will benefit our customers and partners as we face an increase in competitors due to the huge market potential for collaborative robots,” says Universal Robots’ President Jürgen von Hollen. “Our ability to secure key members of the Rethink team will have a significant positive impact in meeting market needs and driving innovation.”
While the shutdown had some critics questioning the future of collaborative robots, they remain the fastest-growing segment of industrial robotics, forecasted to grow from USD 283 million last year to USD 3.26 billion in 2022 according to BIS Research.
“Rethink Robotics – along with Universal Robots – has been a pioneer in driving and developing the collaborative robotics market globally,” says von Hollen. “The company was always a good competitor, which helped us drive cobot awareness worldwide, and we want to make sure its customers can continue to fulfill their collaborative automation initiatives."
Universal Robots is taking advantage of the opportunity to offer a roadmap for customers of Rethink’s Baxter and Sawyer models, designed to bring those customers to UR cobots. Read more about that at www.universal-robots.com/rethink.